Australians are placing themselves at increased health risk, with new data revealing upwards of four million Aussies remaining unaware of health conditions which can increase the risk of heart failure.
Heart failure is the number one cause of hospitalisations for those over 65 and is estimated to cost the Australian health system $3.1 billion annually,, however, it appears most Australians are overlooking the common red flags that may point to heart failure, including iron deficiency, erectile dysfunction, malnutrition and infection.
CEO and Founder of hearts4hearts Tanya Hall, says it’s important to know what the comorbidities are towards heart failure.
“Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness of the comorbidities can lead to heart failure, for example only 1 in 3 Australians are aware that kidney disease can increase their risk of heart failure, and kidney disease is one of the major indicators of mortality risk, and it impacts almost half of all Australians over the age of 75. And over 20% of Australians are unaware of the link between iron deficiency and heart failure, so it’s really important to speak to your GP, get your heart checked, and to understand your risks and the treat any underlying medical conditions that you may have.”
