Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for significant morbidity and premature mortality in Australia. Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in 2020 and cerebrovascular disease was the third most common cause of death.
As the first major update to Australian CVD risk assessment guidelines in over a decade, the 2023 Australian Guideline for assessing and managing cardiovascular disease risk and associated Aus CVD Risk Calculator reflect the latest evidence on assessing, communicating, and managing CVD risk. Developed using Australian-specific data and the latest evidence, it supersedes the 2012 Guidelines for the management of absolute cardiovascular disease risk.
New cardiovascular disease (CVD) Risk Guidelines were commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, and developed by the Heart Foundation on behalf of the Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (ACDPA) (Diabetes Australia, Kidney Health Australia and Stroke Foundation). The guideline has been endorsed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
The new guideline has been developed according to the processes and standards outlined in the 2016 Australian National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Guidelines for Guidelines.
The guideline was developed under the direction and governance of nine expert advisory groups with multidisciplinary clinical and consumer input (see Appendix 1). Expertise was sourced across the disciplines of cardiology, general practice, nephrology, neurology, endocrinology, stroke care, epidemiology, Indigenous health, nutrition, behavioural science, nursing and pharmacy. Special attention was given to First Nations people’s health, and the Indigenous Health Expert Subgroup advised on every aspect of the guideline development.
The project aim was to develop an updated CVD Risk clinical guideline and corresponding CVD risk prediction algorithm enabling best practice assessment and management of CVD risk, overseen by the Guideline Advisory Group which consists of representatives from the ACDPA.
An individual’s risk of developing CVD depends on the combined effect of multiple risk factors. Risk assessment, therefore, remains fundamental to the early detection and prevention of CVD. The guideline encourages early modification of CVD risk factors, helps target medicines to those who will benefit most, and informs clinical decision-making.
The guideline and calculator help healthcare professionals assess, communicate and manage a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Australian Health Journal spoke with cardiologist and Heart Foundation Chief Medical Advisor, Professor Garry Jennings AO on how HCPs in primary health care can use the resources, guideline and risk calculator in clinical practice.
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Dr Wendy Falloon is an Anaesthetist of over 30 years experience and a Fellow of Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). She studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, and worked in Hobart, Sydney and the Uk while completing her specialist qualifications. Her primary professional focus has always been to deliver the best possible experience of anaesthesia to each and every patient, and for them to know that she sees and values them, and their stories.
Having been born in Africa, she realised even as a child that health and wealth were largely a product of where people happen to be born. This sowed the seed of her ongoing desire to be of help to others in less fortunate circumstances, ultimately leading to her volunteer work with the Mercy Ships charity. This is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her career, and she has volunteered in Africa with Mercy Ships 8 times since 2014.
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Dr Jane Tiller is a lawyer, genetic counsellor and public health researcher. She is Ethical, Legal & Social Adviser in Public Health Genomics at Monash University, and a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant holder. Jane is passionate about the use of genomics to prevent disease, and in delivering equitable access to preventive genetic information at the population level. She is co-lead of DNA Screen, a world-first study piloting the offer of preventive DNA screening to the Australian adult population. DNA Screen has tested over 10,000 young people for genetic high risk of medically actionable conditions such as cancer and heart disease, finding about 2% of participants had genetic high risk. Jane is leading efforts to secure Commonwealth Government funding to expand the DNA Screen program, with the eventual goal of the development of a public health population screening program for disease prevention based on high genetic risk.
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