Dr Toby Gardner on how Heart Health Checks saves lives

Cardiovascular disease puts immense strain on patients, their families, and the health system and costs Australia more than $12.7 billion each year.

However, up to 90 per cent of heart disease is preventable, and something as simple as a 20-minute Heart Health Check with your GP could prove lifesaving.

Launceston GP Dr Toby Gardner said early intervention was crucial to reducing a person's risk.

"We think an ounce of prevention is better than a tonne of cure," he said.

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"So, anything we can do to intervene early and help keep people out of the Angiography Suite and off the table having bypass grafts is surely a better way of improving quality of life long-term.

"If we can intervene early, often with low-risk interventions and minimal changes to someone's lifestyle, we can make huge improvements down the line to their quality of life and reduce their risk of a heart attack or stroke."

Dr Gardner said a Heart Health Check helped determine a person's risk factors for heart disease and estimated how likely they are to have a heart attack or stroke in the next five years.

"A Heart Health Check is a 20 to 40 minute consultation with a GP, which assesses someone's risk of heart disease," he said.

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"The visit usually involves having your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels checked.

"Once these factors are determined, a heart health calculator is used to determine if a person is at a low, moderate or high risk of having a heart attack or stroke."

Depending on your circumstances, your GP will help develop a plan to help reduce your risk.

Patients might also be referred to a dietitian or a cardiologist or prescribed medication to lower blood pressure or cholesterol levels.

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Dr Gardner said if you are 45 and over and don't already have heart disease, you are eligible for an annual heart check under Medicare.

"Those with a strong family history of heart disease should also look at having a Heart Health Check," he said.

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are eligible from age 30, and Medicare covers Heart Health Checks and are free at practices that bulk bill this service."

With up to two Tasmanians dying on average every day due to heart disease, Dr Gardner said many people may not understand they are at risk.

"We know about 90 per cent of heart disease is linked to preventable or modifiable risk factors," he said.

"So, if we can influence some of those modifiable risk factors, we can directly impact decreasing heart disease rates in our Tasmanian population."

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