All heart, stroke and vascular disease

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How many Australians are living with heart, stroke and vascular disease?

1.3 million Australians aged 18 and over (6.4% of the adult population) were living with one or more conditions related to heart, stroke or vascular disease (HSVD) in 2022–24.

Hospitalisations

In 2023–24 there were 634,000 hospitalisations where cardiovascular disease (CVD) was recorded as the principal diagnosis.

Deaths

  • In 2024, CVD was the underlying cause of 42,300 deaths (23% of all deaths).
  • Between 1980 and 2024 the age-standardised CVD death rate declined by 80%.

How many Australians are living with heart, stroke and vascular disease?

An estimated 1.3 million Australians aged 18 and over (6.4% of the adult population) were living with one or more conditions related to heart, stroke or vascular disease (HSVD), based on self-reported data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2022–24 National Health Measures Survey (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025). 

Age and sex

In 2022–24, the prevalence of HSVD among adults:

  • was 1.3 times as high among men as women, after adjusting for age
  • increased with age – more than 1 in 4 (26%) people aged 75 and over had HSVD (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Prevalence of self-reported heart, stroke and vascular disease among people aged 18 and over, by age and sex, 2022–24

Bar chart showing the prevalence of heart, stroke and vascular disease increased with age. The greatest disparity between men and women was in the 65–74 year age group.

Source: AIHW analysis of ABS 2025.

Women and cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of illness and death among Australian women. While more men than women have heart, stroke and vascular disease (HSVD), the risk in women is largely under-recognised by the population (AIHW 2019). There are aspects of cardiovascular health that are unique among women, with important sex differences in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. 

In 2025, the Australian Government announced new Ministerial Expert Panels that will advise on priority areas of women’s health. The first expert panel is looking at CVD (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2025). 

More than half a million women are living with CVD

Based on self-reported data, an estimated 563,000 (5.5%) women aged 18 and over in Australia had one or more HSVD in 2022–24.

A major cause of illness and death

  • Around 19,800 women had an acute coronary event (heart attack or unstable angina), and 19,000 women had a stroke in 2023.
  • There were 262,000 hospitalisations of women with CVD in 2023–24.
  • Around 20,200 women died from CVD in 2024, equivalent to almost 1 in 4 female deaths.

For more information visit: 

Cardiovascular disease in Australian women – a snapshot of national statistics

Cardiovascular disease in women.

Kylie's story

‘I always thought that the typical candidate was someone who smoked, sported a beer belly, and had high blood pressure. I was a fit, young, non-smoking woman in my forties. A heart attack couldn’t happen to me – right?'

Kylie survived a heart attack and said cardiac rehab was a turning point in her recovery.

Learn more about Kylie's heart story

Variation by priority population groups

In 2022–24, after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the populations, the prevalence of HSVD:

  • was 1.9 times as high among adults living in the most disadvantaged compared to the least disadvantaged socioeconomic areas
  • did not vary significantly by remoteness area (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025). 

For information on First Nations people, see First Nations people. Data disaggregated by priority population groups are available in the supplementary data tables.

Hospitalisations

In 2023–24, there were 634,000 hospitalisations where CVD was recorded as the principal diagnosis, equivalent to 2,400 hospitalisations per 100,000 population. This represented 5.0% of all hospitalisations in Australia in 2023–24.

Of these, 564,000 (89%) were for acute care – that is, care in which the intent is to perform surgery, diagnostic or therapeutic procedures in the treatment of illness or injury.

Of all hospitalisations for CVD in 2023–24:

  • 25% had a principal diagnosis of coronary heart disease, followed by
  • atrial fibrillation (14%)
  • stroke (12%)
  • heart failure and cardiomyopathy (11%)
  • peripheral arterial disease (5.4%)
  • hypertensive disease (2.7%)
  • rheumatic heart disease (1.0%).

Age and sex

In 2023–24, rates of hospitalisation with CVD as the principal diagnosis:

  • were 1.6 times as high for males compared with females, after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the populations. Age-specific rates were higher among males than females across all age groups
  • increased with age, with over 2 in 3 (68%) CVD hospitalisations occurring in those aged 65 and over
  • were highest in the 85 and over age group – 1.4 times as high as those in the 75–84 age group for males and 1.6 times as high among females (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Cardiovascular disease hospitalisation rates, principal diagnosis, by age and sex, 2023–24

Bar chart showing the rate of cardiovascular disease hospitalisations increased with age. The greatest disparity between males and females was among those aged 65–74 years.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Trends

The number of acute care hospitalisations with CVD as the principal diagnosis increased by 44% between 2000–01 and 2023–24, from 393,000 to 564,000. 

Despite increases in the number of hospitalisations, the age-standardised rate declined by 19% over this period. In contrast to the overall trend, there has been a small increase (4.9%) in the age-standardised rate between 2021–22 to 2023–24. 

The age-standardised rate of CVD hospitalisations for males was higher than for females across the period, with both showing similar declines (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Acute care cardiovascular disease hospitalisation rates, principal diagnosis, by sex, 2000–01 to 2023–24

Line chart showing age standardised rates declining over time, with a small increase in the previous 2 years. Males had consistently higher hospitalisation rates than females.

Notes

  1. Age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard Population
  2. Analysis includes care types: 1 (acute care), 7.1 (newborn with qualified days only), 7.2 (newborn with qualified and unqualified days) and 99 (not reported / unknown) only.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Variation by priority population groups

In 2023–24, the age-standardised CVD hospitalisation rate was: 

  • 1.1 times as high for people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas compared with those living in the highest socioeconomic areas
  • 1.3 times as high for people living in Remote and very remote areas compared with those in Major cities. This may reflect a higher rate of transfers in regional and remote areas. This is often necessary because certain cardiac procedures are generally performed in large hospitals, which are predominantly located in urban areas.

For information on First Nations people, see First Nations people. Data disaggregated by priority population groups are available in the supplementary data tables.

Hospital separation to person ratio for CVD (number of hospitalisations per person)

Based on data from the NHDH, in 2023–24 there were around 357,000 hospitalisations with CVD recorded as a principal diagnosis in public hospitals. This represented around 252,000 people and was equivalent to 1.4 hospitalisations per person. The number of hospitalisations per person increased with age, from 1.2 among those aged less than 25 years to 1.4 among those aged 45 years and over. 

The age-standardised separation to person ratio for CVD remained stable between 2012–13 and 2023–24, which suggests the increase in the number of hospital separations over this period represents a greater number of people being hospitalised rather than an increase in readmissions. 

Deaths

In 2024, CVD was the underlying cause of 42,300 deaths (23% of all deaths), a rate of 156 per 100,000 population. The proportion of CVD deaths (as the underlying cause of death) by subtype in 2024 was:

  • coronary heart disease (38%)
  • stroke (19%)
  • heart failure and cardiomyopathy (12%)
  • hypertensive disease (6.8%)
  • atrial fibrillation (5.8%)
  • peripheral arterial disease (4.4%)
  • rheumatic heart disease (0.9%) 
  • congenital heart disease (0.4%) (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Major causes of cardiovascular disease deaths, 2024

A substantially greater number of males than females died of coronary heart disease. A greater number of females died of stroke, atrial fibrillation, hypertensive disease and rheumatic heart disease. 

Notes

1. Deaths are counted according to year of registration of death.

2. Deaths registered in 2024 are based on preliminary data and are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.


Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.

Age and sex

In 2024, CVD death rates:

  • were 1.5 times as high for males as for females, after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the population. This was largely driven by the substantially higher rate of CHD deaths among males compared with females
  • increased with age, with half of CVD deaths occurring in people aged 85 and over. CVD death rates for males and females were highest in those aged 85 and over – 4.4 times as high for males and 6.8 times as high for females aged 75–84 (Figure 5)
  • Age-specific rates for males were higher than females across all age groups. However, the gap narrowed among those aged 85 years and older.

Figure 5: Cardiovascular disease death rates, underlying cause, by age and sex, 2024

Bar chart showing cardiovascular disease death rates were highest among those 85 years and over.

Notes

1. Deaths are counted according to year of registration of death.

2. Deaths registered in 2024 are based on preliminary data and are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.


Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.

Trends

After adjusting for age, the CVD death rate has declined by around 80% for both males and females between 1980 and 2024 (Figure 6). This overall downward trend has been driven by major public health improvements with advancements in both prevention and treatment. 

The rise in CVD deaths in 2022 occurred alongside higher overall mortality, largely driven by COVID-19. Chronic cardiac conditions were the most common pre-existing conditions among people who died from the virus (ABS 2023; 2024). Subsequent data suggest that CVD death rates follow the underlying long‑term trend.

For more information about COVID-19 and CVD see, COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease: Impacts in Australia, 2020–2022.

Figure 6: Cardiovascular disease death rates, underlying cause, 1980–2024

Cardiovascular disease death rates have declined between 1980 and 2024 at a similar rate for males and females. Males had a consistently higher death rate than females over this period.

Notes

  1. Age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard Population.
  2. Deaths are counted according to year of registration of death.
  3. Deaths registered in 2021 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2022 are based on the revised version; and deaths registered in 2023 and 2024 are based on the preliminary version. Revised and preliminary versions are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.

Variation by priority population groups

In 2024, after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the populations, the CVD death rate was: 

  • 1.6 times as high for people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas compared with those in the highest socioeconomic areas. This difference was greater for males (1.6 times as high) than females (1.5 times as high)
  • 1.4 times as high in Remote and very remote areas compared with Major cities. The difference was similar for males and females (Figure 7).

For information on First Nations people, see First Nations people. Data disaggregated by priority population groups are available in the supplementary data tables.

Figure 7: Cardiovascular disease death rates, underlying cause, by priority population group and sex, 2024

Bar chart showing cardiovascular disease death rates increased with increasing socioeconomic disadvantage and remoteness. This was consistent for both males and females. 

Population group

Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.

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