GPs are helping to reduce and delay the onset of more serious
cardiovascular conditions in many of their patients, according to a
report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare.
Patients are seeing GPs more often for cardiovascular check-ups
and there has been a decline in GP management of serious
cardiovascular problems. This indicates that GPs are raising
awareness of the risk factors and helping to modify them.
About 1 in 4 patients at GP consultations have
cardiovascular-related conditions.
Many GP patients diagnosed with these problems are also
overweight, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoke
cigarettes and drink too much alcohol.
More than 15% of all GP patients have hypertension, around 4%
have ischaemic heart disease or heart attacks, about 2% heart
failure, another 2% arrhythmias, and nearly 2% 'other vascular
diseases'.
Of those GP patients with a cardiovascular problem, more than
half had hypertension, around 11% also had diabetes, and a further
11% high cholesterol-a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
The report, Cardiovascular problems and risk behaviours
among patients at general practice encounters in Australia
1998-00 presents an overview of general practice care of
cardiovascular problems. It is based on information drawn from
about 200,000 doctor-patient encounters between April 1998 and
March 2000.
GPs recorded at least one cardiovascular problem at more than
31,000 of these encounters, and prescribed medication for just over
60% of these cases. Patients diagnosed with cardiovascular problems
were more likely to be male and significantly older than other
patients.
In a smaller sample of about 11,500 cardiovascular patients, 1
in 10 smoked tobacco, almost two-thirds of these patients were
either overweight or obese, and 1 in 5 patients reported high
levels of alcohol consumption.
Co-author of the report, Joan Henderson, from the AIHW's General
Practice Statistics and Classification Unit at the University of
Sydney, said that males aged 18-44 years, who already have a
cardiovascular problem, were of particular concern. One in four
continue to carry excess weight and drink at-risk levels of
alcohol.
'The good news is there has been a decline in the rate of
cardiovascular problems managed by GPs for patients in all age
groups since 1990-91, ' Mrs Henderson said.
24 October 2002
Further information: Mrs Joan Henderson, tel.
02 9845 8152 (wk),
tel. 0412 971 061, or A/Professor Helena Britt, tel. 02 9845 8150
(wk), tel. 0411 197 938
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for details.