Social Determinants of Heart Disease among Older Population in Australia

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH
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Introduction
Heart disease is most commonly known as cardiovascular disease is defined as the
condition, which include the blocking or narrowing of blood vessels that result in chest pain,
stroke or heart attack. The blood vessels are responsible for pumping blood to the heart that is
required for leading a healthy life (Nichols et al., 2016). Heart disease is considered as one of
the most common health issue that is responsible for increasing the burden of health issue
within the Australian healthcare system. According to the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare, the older population (aged 65 or above) are under higher risk of developing this
health condition as compared to any other group of Australian population (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019). Therefore, this paper will highlight the social
determinants of health that is responsible for increasing the rate of heart diseases among the
older population in Australia.
Burden of heart disease among older population
Burden of disease (BoD) is considered as the standard method of identifying the
reasons of health illness. It helps to analyse the influence of fatal and non-fatal burden of
illness and damages that will assist in estimating the well-being of the chosen population and
also determine the risk factor that leads to any disease or health issue. During 2017, every 1
in 7 people were aged approximately 65 years and above in Australia. The older population
were considered to be most prevalent for heart diseases due to lack of physical activity that
had resulted in approximately 1.8 million premature demise of the total population
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
The burden of heart disease was most prevalent among older population, where men
accounted for 51% of the loss and women accounted for 49% of the loss. Therefore, the
gender-based incidence rate was seen higher among men as compared to women that will

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further increase with age. Approximately 35% of the Australian aged more than 60 have self-
reported the condition of long-term heart disease that had further increased to the rate of 66%
(Www1.health.gov.au, 2019). In 2011-12, the rate of heart disease was most common for the
older population and more than 64% of the population have self-reported the condition of
heart disease. According to the heart foundation, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease
increases with age and majorly affect the population residing in poor socio-economic area,
remote or rural areas that exhibit higher rate of hospitalization. Cardiovascular disease solely
accounts for 15% of the total burden of disease within Australia after cancer (Foundation,
2019).
Social determinants of health (SDH)
Social determinants of health are defined as the factors that are responsible or effect
the possibility of an individual to stay fit or healthy or to be prevalent for any disease or
illness. Social determinants of health can weaken or strengthen the health or well-being of an
individual within any specific community. This study will identify the social determinants of
health that is responsible for high burden of health disease in Australia among the older
population (Azzopardi et al., 2018). There are various risk factors that is responsible for
increased heart diseases within the older population in which the lifestyle is considered as the
major factor or social determinants of heart disease. Lifestyle factors comprise of alcohol
consumption, smoking, exercise and weight, which are the major factors that lead to high rate
of heart disease among older population. The rate of smoking cigarettes is higher in older
people as compared to other generations. The younger people tend to consume healthy food
and their eating habits comprises of all necessary nutrients as compared to the older people
who often consume poor vegetable and fruit (Aihw.gov.au, 2019).