You may not be thinking about your heart health at the moment – but one in five Australians aged 45 to 74 have a high risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next five years.
Most of us wouldn’t know we were at risk though – because many of the risk factors for heart disease like high blood pressure and high cholesterol are ‘silent’ and don’t always have obvious symptoms.
But if you have not had a heart event, and are aged 45 years and over, or from 30 years if you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, you are eligible for a Heart Health Check covered by Medicare.
These checks – which must last a minimum of 20 minutes – give GPs time to measure your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, ask about your diet, whether you are physically active, whether you smoke and find out about your family heart history.
This information is then put into an online calculator to work out your risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years – and it’s saving hundreds of lives.
Since the subsidy was introduced on 1 April 2019, GPs have provided more than 83,000 Checks – why not find out your risk?
You can find out more information about heart health by calling the Heart Foundation Helpline on 13 11 12.
