Study aims to improve cardio treatment for Aborigines
Curtin University has embarked on a 3 year study to improve services to Aboriginal people with heart disease (file photo). (Getty Images: Simon Fergusson)
Researchers at Curtin University have embarked on a 3 year study in a bid to improve services to Aboriginal people with heart disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among Indigenous Australians with a death rate 3 times higher than those of other Australians.
Sandra Thompson from the university’s Centre for International Health says her team will examine hospital data about the treatment of Aboriginal people with acute heart disease symptoms.
She says researchers will also speak to people who have been treated for heart disease to learn more about how they dealt with their symptoms.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in both women and men in the United States. Although many women believe that they’re more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, their risk of CVD is actually significantly greater. Cardiothoracic surgery also involves the treatment of the heart, (cardiovascular disease), and lungs (lung disease). Heart disease symptoms may not always be evident, but usually there are symptoms that can alert you to a potential problem. A classic symptom is chest pressure or left arm discomfort, which occurs during stress (physical or emotional), and goes away with rest, or with nitroglycerin, a medication that dilates blood vessels. Heart disease symptoms differ in intensity and some symptoms might not develop until after there’s been extensive damage to a person’s heart and blood vessels. Some people experience only a few of the symptoms of a heart attack.