Cardiovascular diseases

Aletta E Schutte · Markus Schlaich

During 2012–22, about 40% of the cost of managing hypertension in Australia was borne directly by patients (about $494 million per year)

Emily R Atkins · Long Huy Nguyen · Mary Lou Chatterton · Markus Schlaich · Aletta E Schutte · Anthony Rodgers

The general practice management of people who have been hospitalised with stroke or TIA could be improved

Muideen T Olaiya · Joosup Kim · Christopher Pearce · Kiran Bam · Dominique A Cadilhac · Nadine E Andrew · Lauren M Sanders · Amanda G Thrift · Mark R Nelson · Seana Gall · Monique F Kilkenny

Clinician awareness of notification requirements and automated technology that facilitates ARF/RHD notifications are needed

Ingrid Stacey · Yolande Knight · Claire MX Ong · Amy Lee · Suresh Karuppannan · Allison Christou · Judith M Katzenellenbogen

Michael P Gray · Gemma A Figtree

Each year, more than $14 billion is spent by the federal government on the direct health costs of cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of death and disability in Australia. A perspective in the Medical Journal of Australia discusses developing new models to harness Australia’s immense research resources to drive new strategies that can help patient and economic outcomes. “Australia urgently needs a model that connects governments, health service providers and the research workforce to regularly update data on the burden of disease and essential clinical quality indicators,” the authors state. “There is already a wealth of information available for clinical quality improvement, but these data are often fragmented, lack robust metadata and are unable to be accessed in a systematic and timely manner.” The Cardiovascular Health Leadership Research Forum (CV HLRF) connects the health system with Australia’s researchers. It allows funders to invest in, and our health system to implement, prioritised research areas. “Until now, there has been no mechanism that allows for a fully integrated national conversation on CVD [cardiovascular disease] and stroke between the health system, clinicians, researchers, industry partners, state and federal governments, and data and health economics experts.” “It has the potential to accelerate implementation and drive new preventive and therapeutic strategies and foster a vibrant medical technology ecosystem, thereby, positively affecting patient and economic outcomes,” the authors said. The CVHLRF was established in 2022 and was designed and is hosted by the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) — the nation’s peak body for CVD researchers. “Key elements of the CVHLRF include: endorsement by National Health Chief Executive Forum as a valuable model for connecting health, clinical and research leaders to contemporary cardiovascular health data to identify evidence-based research and implementation priorities;commitment of health leaders from all Commonwealth, state and territory health jurisdictions to at least biannual forum meetings;collaborative approach to identifying research and implementation priorities that are deeply relevant to health system needs for CVD;connection to national cardiovascular research workforce through the ACvA for whole-of-pipeline solutions (eg, fundamental mechanisms, new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, bioengineering, clinical trials, and implementation and policy);building of partnerships with health services and industry and moving towards co-commissioned approaches to prioritised areas;commitment to evaluating the clinical and economic impact of interventions prospectively; andsupport for an evolving national data dashboard of standardised cardiovascular outcomes and clinical quality indicators to identify major gaps and inequities.”Read the perspective published by the MJA here.

Sally Block

Reducing the number of unplanned re-admissions could improve outcomes for people with heart failure and reduce hospital costs

Trang Dang · Wandy Chan · Sunnya Khawaja · James Fryar · Brenda Gannon · Sanjeewa Kularatna · William Parsonage · Isuru Ranasinghe

Breathlessness imposes major burdens on individuals, the health care system, and the economy

Anthony P Sunjaya · Leanne M Poulos · Gian Luca Di Tanna · Thomas Lung · Guy B Marks · Helen K Reddel · Christine R Jenkins

Queensland Health must act on the coronial recommendations to avoid more preventable deaths in Doomadgee

Avelina Tarrago (Wangkamahdla) · Ella Veit‐Prince · Claire E Brolan

A larger, population-based study of the incidence of stroke in Aboriginal people is both feasible and needed

Angela Dos Santos (Gumbaynggirr, Kwiamble) · Edmund Cheong · Anna H Balabanski · Kendall Goldsmith · Luke Burchill (Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung) · James Burrow · Stephen Brady · Ferdous Alam · Mark Parsons · Judith M Katzenellenbogen · Amanda G Thrift · Timothy J Kleinig · Alex Brown (Wadi Wadi)

Cardiologists require competency and confidence in managing not only deteriorating but also end of life, heart failure

Dominica Zentner · Vithoosharan Sivanathan · Jennifer Philip · Natasha Smallwood

Clinical cardiovascular events were infrequent, and their likelihood was not influenced by COVID-19 vaccination

Hari P Sritharan · Kunwardeep S Bhatia · William Gaal · Leonard Kritharides · Clara K Chow · Ravinay Bhindi

ICDs should be offered only to people for whom the potential benefit outweighs the potential harm

Lin Zhu · Andrew Hayen · Bianca Blanch · Nathan Engstrom · Jenny A Doust · Christopher Semsarian · Katy JL Bell