Heart disease is Australia’s single leading cause of death. In 2017, heart disease claimed the lives of 51 Australians each day – that’s one person every 28 minutes. While both men and women are affected, men are more likely to develop heart disease than women.
There’s no single cause for heart disease but there are many risk factors which increase your chances of developing it.
Risk Factors
These risk factors include:
- Age
- Family history
- Ethnic background
- Smoking
- Being overweight
- Being physically inactive
- Eating an unhealthy diet
- Having high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol
- Having diabetes
- Social isolation and depression
Fortunately, many of the risk factors for heart disease are modifiable by introducing a few simple lifestyle changes.
You can find out more about what’s involved by speaking with your GP, or visiting the Heart Foundation website
