News release
5 August 2003
UniSA researchers count the cost of epidemic heart failure in Australia
In the most comprehensive study yet done in Australia on the rates of heart failure and its future impacts, a team of researchers at the University of South Australia has found that heart failure is costing the health care system more than a $1 billion every year.
Led by the National Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiovascular Nursing, Professor Simon Stewart, the report describes the likely burden of heart failure, a common and debilitating syndrome affecting the heart that is often more “malignant” than many forms of cancer in Australia.
Entitled Uncovering a Hidden Epidemic: A Study of the Current Burden of Heart Failure in Australia the report provides a State-by-State picture of the number of people affected by heart failure and the number of hospital days attributable to this deadly and disabling syndrome.
It reveals the following startling facts and figures:
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In the year 2000, approximately 325,000 Australians had typical symptoms of shortness of breath and fatigue because of underlying heart failure (HF)
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A further 214,000 Australians in that year had “latent” HF likely to develop into a more serious form
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The number of Australians affected by HF in the year 2000, therefore, was likely to be in excess of 500,000 or approximately 3 per cent of the Australian population
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At least 140,000 individuals affected by HF (around one quarter) live in rural and remote regions and therefore distal to specialist health care services
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In the same year, there were approximately 100,000 hospital admissions involving more than 1.4 million days of hospital stay relating to heart failure
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Overall, the cost of HF to the Australian health care system in the year 2000 was greater than $1 billion.
In response to these figures, the authors have made a number of key recommendations including immediate recognition of heart failure as a national health priority by all health authorities and levels of government.
Professor Simon Stewart said funding and infrastructure support was needed urgently to facilitate efforts to develop a national dataset to formally measure and monitor the burden of HF in Australia.
He said funding should also injected into a national program of community-based care for patients discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of heart failure based on programs developed here in Australia and already applied on a national basis in other countries.
“We have uncovered a hidden epidemic that really has not been appropriately acknowledged by health care authorities and governments throughout Australia,” Professor Stewart said.
“Only a suitably focussed and appropriately resourced national response will prevent heart failure from imposing an even greater burden on the Australian health care system over the next five to 10 years.”
Professor Andrew Tonkin, Director of Health, Medical and Scientific Affairs with the National Heart Foundation of Australia, today welcomed the report.
"The
findings are extremely important and will inform health policy and
planning,” Professor Tonkin said.
“We now need to implement management programs which are best able to
support heart failure patients and their treating health professionals."
The full report (free pdf file) can be found at the following University of South Australia web site: http://www.unisa.edu.au/hsc/news/
Media contact
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Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966, 0418823673
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Professor Tonkin can be contacted for further comment on 0412 797 937
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Professor Simon Stewart can be contacted on 043 8302 111 (mobile) or 8302 1115 (office)