The health system faces a tsunami of heart failure patients unless dramatic measures are taken to ensure Australians become healthier, a leading cardiac researcher warns.
New modelling predicts there will be a 30 per cent increase in the number of Australians affected by heart failure by 2025.
Research fellow Professor Simon Stewart, director of the Mary MacKillop Institute of Health Research and director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence to Reduce Inequality in Heart Disease, led the research and says this is a conservative estimate.
"The scary part for us is that this is just modelling based on the ageing of the Australian population and the growth of the Australian population," Prof Stewart said
It does not take into account any other heart failure risk factors like obesity and diabetes.
"Baby boomers who have entered old age now with these risk factors and untreated hypertension, which is another big thing, that is going to fuel this future epidemic of heart failure unfortunately," he said.
In recognition of the growing need for treatment, a new drug known as Entresto will be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from June 1.
But Prof Stewart warns the drug on its own is not enough to tackle this silent epidemic.
"This is certainly a welcome addition to the armoury of treatments we have and it will benefit many with heart failure but not all.
"We have to work on prevention, early detection and management is better than relying on these types of drugs to prolong someone's life," he said.
The new research, which was funded by pharmaceutical company Novartis, shows 511,000 Australians currently live with heart failure and each year 67,000 new cases are diagnosed, costing the healthcare system more than $5 billion a year.
Heart failure is when the muscles of the heart have been damaged in some way so that it either does not pump properly or it can't relax properly to take in enough blood to supply around the body.
A heart attack, chronic high blood pressure and infection can all cause heart failure and shortness of breath is the main expression of the condition.
Prof Stewart likens heart failure - the "Cinderella of cardiovascular disease" - to a car engine that has worn out.
"It's leaking in different spots and it's not as efficient as it use to be and that does have a dramatic effect on a person's quality of life and on longevity," he said.
It's time, Prof Stewart says, that governments regard heart failure as a serious issue because it's the most common cause of premature death, more so than cancer.
"The figures tells us very clearly heart disease is not being given enough attention and heart failure being the Cinderella is bottom of the list," he said.
He'd also like to see people look after their hearts better.
"We all die at some point but please don't be the ones to die of heart failure - it's a horrible thing to die from," he said.
