Elsie Lange
Health organisations across the country are hoping Australians have a change of heart when it comes to getting their ticker checked.
Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health (SCCH) is one of them, running a campaign to coincide with the Australian Heart Foundation’s (HF) Heart Week running from May 2 to 8 encouraging people over 45 to book themselves an assessment.
The organisation will share information with the community about the importance of understanding risk factors, such as high blood pressure and alcohol.
According to the HF, cardiovascular disease affects more than four million Australians, killing around 40 per cent more males than females.
SCCH Primary Health manager Jo Howard said the risk factors can be silent.
“People are often not aware that they are at risk of cardiovascular disease because they are not experiencing any symptoms,” Ms Howard said.
The check takes 20 minutes and looks at a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next five years, in which a general practitioner or nurse reviews a person’s medical and family history, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels and discusses healthy lifestyle choices to decrease risk.
SCCH is a champion of cardiac rehabilitation, assisting people to recover from heart attacks, transplants, strokes and other heart-related issues.
Its program combines exercise with group education sessions, teaching participants about the heart, healthy eating, managing medication and ways to stay heart-issue free in the future.
“The health service has seen more younger people being referred to the program with almost half of the referrals in the last six months coming from people under the age of 65,” SCCH said.
To join the program at either Kyneton or Sunbury, contact SCCH on 5441 1666 or admin@scchc.org.au.
