Ms CHARISHMA KALIYANDA (Liverpool) (16:41): In 2020 research conducted by the Heart Foundation revealed an alarming state of affairs for health equity in New South Wales. It found that those in south‑west Sydney ranked in the top 10 in New South Wales for hospital admissions caused by heart disease or heart attacks. Heart Foundation NSW and ACT heart health manager Anna Flynn, said at the time:
"If you live in the state's remote south, north or west, or in a disadvantaged part of Sydney, you have a much higher chance of heart disease, which remains the single leading cause of death in NSW"
The statistics are alarming. They show that the rate of coronary heart disease death in south-west Sydney is higher than the New South Wales average and, along with stroke, is the leading cause of circulatory disease death in south-west Sydney.
On average, just over 48 people per a population of 100,000 die due to heart disease in the South Western Sydney Local Health District, which stretches from Bankstown down to Bowral. In a local health district that serves over one million people, that amounts to hundreds of people every year and hundreds of families who lose loved ones due to heart disease, often earlier than they expect. The frequency of heart disease, including chronic heart disease, has fallen over the past decade from just over 167 per 100,000 in 2013, to just over 125 per 100,000 in 2021. The decline in death rates due to chronic heart disease since 1980 has been attributed to a number of factors including reductions in some risk factor levels, better treatment and care, and improved secondary prevention. However, we note that south-west Sydney residents on average have elevated rates of behaviours such as tobacco use, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet that have been linked to poorer health status and chronic disease prevalence such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and malignant neoplasms.
Cardiovascular disease has the highest level of healthcare expenditure of any disease group in Australia. Moreover, cardiovascular disease is largely preventable and interventions to treat and manage heart disease and stroke are proven to be effective. The South Western Sydney Local Health District outlines prevention of cardiovascular disease as one of its key heath challenges. This can be achieved through investments in population health and community-based and integrated care initiatives. As part of itsKeeping People Healthy: Prevention Strategy to 2028, the South Western Sydney Local Health District seeks to build on currently comprehensive efforts by embedding prevention in clinical service, making equity and diversity central, and enabling innovation through greater quantities of data, evidence and research.
This week the wonderful team from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute were in this place conducting heart health checks for many members and staff. In doing so, they raised awareness about the many factors that can impact on our heart health, and the proactive measures that we can take to improve our heart health. I am truly enthused by the recently announced strategic partnership between the Government, the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute to form a cardiovascular research hub in south-west Sydney. The aim of the new hub is to make a life-saving impact where it is needed most, to drive changes and to boost heart disease research. The hub is the first of its kind in Australia and will enable research to progress faster and deliver new treatments and medications that will improve the lives of people living in south-west Sydney, who have higher risk factors for cardiovascular disease, as well as people living across Australia. The innovative hub was made possible with strong support of the local health district and UNSW Sydney and will significantly boost research and accelerate future scientific breakthroughs in a region with the highest heart-related hospital admissions in the State.
The New South Wales Government has committed $150 million over 10 years to support cardiovascular research. As part of this investment, $8.7 million has been allocated to nine research projects involving expert multidisciplinary teams. By attracting quality researchers from interstate and overseas, we are boosting the New South Wales economy, attracting larger proportions of national research funding to the State and making New South Wales the premier State for heart health research in Australia. The collaboration between the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute will assist in furthering many objectives through landmark investments in research.
