A heart attack is a shocking event that can have a major impact on a person’s life. Also known as a ‘myocardial infarction’, it occurs when blood flow to part of the heart is blocked, often by a blood clot. This blockage prevents oxygen from reaching the heart muscle, causing damage or death to the tissue.
Every year, over 54,000 Australians experience a heart attack. Thanks to advances in medicine, many people will survive their first heart attack, though long-term survival often comes with serious health challenges. Around 50% of heart attack survivors develop chronic conditions such as heart failure, arrhythmias, or angina, which affect quality of life and require ongoing medical care. About 20% of survivors who have had a heart attack will experience a second one within a year.
This high recurrence rate emphasises the critical importance of post-heart attack care, which includes lifestyle and diet changes, education, exercise, medication adherence, and regular medical follow-ups.
Yet despite vast improvements in these areas over time, post-heart attack care is still failing many survivors – only one in four Australians receive optimal care after a heart attack. To save lives and protect the quality of life of thousands of Australians, we urgently need to develop new and improved methods for managing this life-threatening disease.
Heartbeat Victoria is partnering with the Baker Institute which is at the forefront of research and innovation in cardiac rehabilitation to significantly improve patient outcomes. Together, we are helping uncover the answers that will enable survivors to lead full and healthy lives and we are working towards a brighter future where no person has to live with the debilitating impact of heart attack.
You can read more about Heartbeat Victoria in the Summer 2024/2025 edition of Heartbeat Happenings.