INDUSTRY & RESEARCH
campusreview.com.au
Early heart checks
for longer life
ANU research to help ‘close the
gap’ on Indigenous heart disease.
By Wade Zaglas
New national recommendations have
stated that Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people should have
their heart checked by age 18 at the latest.
These recommendations, which
appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia
in an article titled ‘Cardiovascular disease
risk assessment for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander adults aged under 35 years: a
consensus statement’, revise the screening
age for cardiovascular disease (CVD) from
35 down to 18.
Under the new recommendations,
young adults with type 2 diabetes and
microalbuminuria, kidney disease and very
high blood pressure or high cholesterol will
be identified as being at high risk of CVD.
Based on earlier research from the
Australian National University, a host of
health professionals and Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander CVD experts have
agreed that the latest recommendations
will “continue closing the gap on early heart
attacks among Indigenous Australians”.
“We have seen great improvements in
CVD prevention, and this was highlighted
in this year’s Closing the Gap speech,” ANU
lead researcher Dr Jason Agostino said.
“However, it remains a leading cause of
preventable death in Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples. We need to be
doing all we can to prevent it.
“Just about every Aboriginal person I
know has a family member or a community
member who’s died young from a heart
attack or stroke. We need to change that.
“We can improve things by picking up
conditions like diabetes and kidney disease
early and starting conversations about
treatment.”
On a promising note, research shows
that the rate of deaths from strokes and
heart attacks among Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples has almost halved.
However, three out of four Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander adults under the
age of 35 display at least one CVD risk
factor, such as diabetes, high cholesterol
and high blood pressure.
Vicki Wade, a fellow author of the article,
is a 62-year-old cardiac nurse who has
heart disease. She is also Rheumatic Heart
Disease Australia’s senior cultural adviser
and believes it’s important to remind both
community and health workers about
CVD’s risks.
“Although rates have improved, the
statistics are frightening,” Wade said.
“We have generations of Aboriginal
people who are not seeing their
grandchildren growing up because of
heart attack and stroke.
“This is a chance for local solutions,
community engagement and health
workers to be educated.”
Heart Foundation chief medical adviser
and fellow author, cardiologist Professor
Garry Jennings, said: “Evidence shows
that Indigenous Australians have CVD risk
factors like diabetes, high blood pressure
and high cholesterol at a young age. We
need to prevent, identify and treat these.”
The article also recommends that
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples undergo CVD risk factor screening
from age 18, in addition to using “Australian
CVD risk calculators from age 30”.
“It’s easy to do. The assessment involves
the normal parts of a health check with a
blood and urine test. It is quick and can be
done by your local GP,” Agostino said.
“For the vast majority it will be bulk-billed
and free.”
The recommendations have been
backed by the Royal Australian College
of General Practitioners, the National
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health
Organisation (NACCHO), the Editorial
Committee for Remote Primary Health
Care Manuals, and the Australian Chronic
Disease Prevention Alliance.
“This is about getting consistency
everywhere. This is what Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander leaders, and the
evidence, are telling us we should do,”
Agostino said.
“Many GPs are already screening as early
as 15, but some GPs and nurses don’t
know about the need to test early.
“This is about doing what we can to pick
up risk factors early and close the gap on
early heart attacks and strokes.”
NACCHO chair Donnella Mills said the
new recommendations were “a great step”
in curbing the “burden” of cardiovascular
disease among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people.
“Our people have greater rates of
heart disease, and screening from a
younger age will contribute to longer,
healthier lives. NACCHO encourages all
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health
Organisations to implement the new
guidelines in their practices,” she said.
RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Health chair, Associate Professor
Peter O’Mara, also welcomed the latest
recommendations, saying they could
make a “real difference” to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people’s health
outcomes.
“We cannot hope to close the gap
without making evidence-based changes –
these new recommendations are a positive
step to improving early detection and
treatment of CVD,” he said.
“The RACGP has over 40,000 members,
including 10,000 members in the National
Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Health. While many GPs know
about early screening, not all do. These
new recommendations will help spread
awareness among GPs, improving access
to early screening and quality care.” ■
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