This February, Heart Research Australia (HRA) invites all locals to wear red and increase their heart health knowledge through its new REDFEB campaign.
Designed to improve general awareness and education on heart health in the community, the campaign sees the HRA launch a new free to download Heart Smart Pocket Guide containing the information on the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, as well as advice on what to do in an emergency situation.
With heart disease the single biggest cause of death in Australians, GPs, Cardiologists and other health workers are praising the initiative and are encouraging their patients to access the pocket guide.
Wyong Cardiologist, Dr Maged William, is one such proponent and believes that campaigns and resources like the HRA’s can be valuable starting blocks for improving heart health locally.
“Cardiovascular disease is strongly linked to lifestyle factors, so having an initiative like REDFEB aiming to make people more aware of the links between worrying habits and disease is extremely important,” Dr William said.
According to Dr William, while heart attack remained the most acute and most dangerous condition encountered by Cardiologists, the condition was generally on the decline, with other conditions like heart failure becoming increasingly more the norm on the Central Coast.
Dr William said a combination of lifestyle factors was attributing to the swing, with the region’s ageing population key to the shift.
“Here on the Coast we have a high percentage of older Australians making up the population and in general people in Australia are reaching older ages as life expectancy increases and that is why we’re seeing less heart attacks and more heart failure,” Dr William explained.
The other age related condition that Dr William said was becoming more common on the Coast is cardiac rhythm disturbances.
Sometimes known as heart rhythm disturbances or arrhythmias, cardiac rhythm disturbances are abnormal or irregular heartbeats that disrupt the heart’s electrical signals, causing it to beat too fast, too slowly, or in an abnormal way.
Affecting millions of people worldwide, Dr William said the risk associated with a heart rhythm disturbance significantly increases as a person ages, with the more severe forms of the condition able to trigger sudden cardiac death.
On the Coast atrial fibrillation was especially concerning to Dr William.
“While not as acute or potentially fatal as heart attack, the warning signs (heart palpitations, shortness of breath and weakness) are generally not taken seriously enough when they present, so patients aren’t getting diagnosed in time to receive the appropriate medication and treatment,” Dr William said.
With one of the key goals of REDFEB to help clear up misunderstandings around risk factors and warning signs, Dr William believes older residents of the Coast and those with conditions commonly linked to the development of cardiovascular disease such as obesity and diabetes, could benefit from downloading the Heart Smart Pocket Guide.
“To me any educational resource has the potential to be worthwhile.
“The only precaution here is people recognising that their varied backgrounds, genetics, family history and lifestyles mean there’s no one size fits all perfect resource, but building blocks that cover all the basics like the pocket guide are a great place to start if you’re interested in learning ways to improve your health and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.”
“I’d also like to let the community know that over the past 10 years a great effort has been made to upgrade public health facilities at Wyong and Gosford Hospitals and we now have the ability to open a procedure room at any time 24/7 to save someone who’s having a heart attack.
“Central Coast residents should feel assured that should they need it, they can receive cutting edge treatment, care and management right here on the Coast.” Dr William said.
The Heart Smart Pocket Guide can be downloaded for free from HRA’s website.
Dilon Luke