Burden of Heart Disease on Aboriginal Australians

Running head: BURDEN OF HEART DISEASE ON ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
BURDEN OF HEART DISEASE ON ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
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1BURDEN OF HEART DISEASE ON ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
Introduction:
One of the most worldwide pandemic is heart failure. Approximately, twenty six million
people around the globe are affected with heart failure and the incidence of the heart failure is
rising alarmingly day by day. However, the effect of heart failure is not similar in every
population group. Data suggests that the incidence rate, morbidity, and mortality of the heart
failure are varied among the different population group, age group, and demographic profile
(Savarese & Lund, 2017). The reason behind this difference is that the socio- economic
factors play a significant role in the health conditions like heart failure. Australia is also no
exception from this trend and it is estimated that the around 300,000 Australians suffers from
the chronic heart failure (Nichols et al., 2016). Interestingly, the incidence rate and mortality
is not similar across the different population group in Australia. It has been widely reported in
the research investigation that the aboriginal Australians are far more at risk for developing
heart failure in comparison with the non- aboriginal Australians (Nichols et al., 2016).
Therefore, ‘Aboriginal Population’ also known as ‘Indigenous Australians’ was chosen in
this article for the discussion of burden of heart disease on this particular community.
Additionally, social determinants of health which are related to the heart disease in this
community will also be discussed along with the intervention method which can be
implemented for the prevention of heart disease in the community of aboriginal Australians.
Discussion:
The cardio vascular disease or heart failure is among one of the primary reason for early
death among the aboriginal Australians or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
(Thompson et al., 2016). The incidence rate among the aboriginal Australian is also higher in
comparison with the non- aboriginal Australians and the difference in life expectancy
between is more than three fold. It has been reported that the aboriginal Australians are twice

2BURDEN OF HEART DISEASE ON ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
more likely to suffer heart attack in comparison with non- aboriginal Australians (Hri.org.au,
2019). It has been reported that around 12 per cent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
individuals were identified for heart and circulatory conditions in the year 2012 -2013 (The
Heart Foundation, 2019). The chances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals to
have a heart or circulatory disease are 20 per cent higher in comparison with the non-
aboriginal Australians (The Heart Foundation, 2019). Unfortunately, this incidence rate is
increasing over the year for the past decade for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people. The number of aboriginal Australians who were diagnosed and reported to
have circulatory or heart condition has increased significantly since 2001. In 2001, the
incidence rate was about 10.5 per cent which increased to 12 per cent in 2012-2013 (The
Heart Foundation, 2019). Prevalence among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander female and male for cardiac, vascular diseases and stroke was the similar for the both
groups which is 4 per cent. Heart, vascular disease, and stroke had been prevalent in
this population in the people of about 35 years of age and above. About 5 per cent
of Aboriginals Australians from 35 to 44 years old reported to
have heart, vascular illness or stroke in comparison with 11 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander aged between 45 to 54 and about 19 per cent individuals aged 55 years and
above reported to have same condition (Abs.gov.au, 2019). In the year 2017, around 12 per
cent of all deaths among indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders were due to heart conditions.
Aboriginal Australians were 70 per cent more likely to perish from heart disease in
comparison with non - indigenous Australians (Abs.gov.au, 2019). Cardiovascular disorder is
the major reason of burden among aboriginal people which is 17 per cent of the total burden
and 4.6 times more likely (per capita) in Aboriginal Australians in comparison with the non-
Aboriginal Australians (Abs.gov.au, 2019).