Heart, stroke and vascular disease: Australian facts

What is coronary heart disease?

Coronary heart disease (CHD), also known as ischaemic heart disease, is the most common cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are 2 main clinical forms – heart attack and angina.

Heart attack – or acute myocardial infarction (AMI) – is a life-threatening event that occurs when a blood vessel supplying the heart is suddenly blocked, threatening to damage the heart muscle and its functions. STEMI (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction) is the most serious type of heart attack. It is almost always caused by a complete blockage of a major coronary artery, leading to a long interruption of blood supply. NSTEMI (Non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction) is characterised by a partially blocked artery, which severely reduces blood flow.

Angina is chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart. With stable angina, periodic episodes of chest pain occur when the heart has a temporary deficiency in blood supply. Unstable angina is an accelerating pattern of chest discomfort, and is the more dangerous form due to a changing severity in partial coronary artery blockages. It is treated in a similar manner to heart attack.

Both heart attack and unstable angina are sudden, severe life-threatening events. They are part of a continuum of acute coronary heart diseases and are together described as acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

How many Australians are living with coronary heart disease?

An estimated 593,000 Australians aged 18 and over (3.0% of the adult population) had CHD at some time in their lives, based on self-reported data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2022–24 National Health Measures Survey (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025). Of those with CHD, 258,000 had experienced angina while 424,000 reported experiencing a heart attack, noting that a person may report having more than one condition.

Age and sex

In 2022–24:

• after adjusting for age, men were 2.2 times as likely as women to be living with CHD
• CHD occurred more commonly in older age groups, increasing from 2.1% in those aged 45–54 to 13% among those aged 75 and over
• at age 75 and over, there was a marked difference between men (18%) and women (7.7%) reporting having CHD (Figure 1).

Variation by priority population groups

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

• those living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were 2.1 times as likely to report having CHD compared with those in the least disadvantaged areas (see supplementary data tables for rates)
• self-reported CHD did not vary significantly by remoteness area (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025).

For information on First Nations people, see First Nations people.

Acute coronary events

There are no direct national data sources on the number of new cases (incidence) of CHD each year. However, a related measure can be used as an estimate – the number of acute coronary events (including heart attack and unstable angina). This method was developed by the AIHW using unlinked hospital and deaths data. A 2022 validation study, which made use of linked administrative data, suggested that estimates based on the unlinked hospital and deaths data may underestimate the number of events by around 15% (AIHW 2022). 

In 2023, there were an estimated 57,100 acute coronary events among people aged 25 and over – equivalent to around 156 events every day.

Age and sex

In 2023, an estimated two-thirds (65%) of acute coronary events among people aged 25 and over occurred in men. 

Rates of acute coronary events:

• were 2.2 times as high among men as women, after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the populations
• increased with age, with the rate among the 85 and over age group being 2.8 times and 4.1 times the rate of the 65–74 and 55–64 age groups, respectively (Figure 2).

Trends

The age-standardised rate of acute coronary events fell by 61% between 2001 and 2023. The decline was slightly higher for women (64%) than men (60%).

The decline in rates of acute coronary events has been attributed to a number of factors, including improvements in medical and surgical treatment, and the increased use of antithrombotic drugs as well as drugs to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Reductions in risk factor levels – including tobacco smoking, high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure – have also contributed to these declines (Taylor et al. 2006).

Hospitalisations

In 2023–24 there were 160,000 hospitalisations where CHD was recorded as the principal diagnosis, equivalent to 1.3% of all hospitalisations, and 25% of all CVD hospitalisations in Australia.

Of these, AMI accounted for 35% (55,700 hospitalisations) and angina accounted for 20% (32,700 hospitalisations).

Age and sex

In 2023–24, CHD hospitalisation rates as the principal diagnosis:

• were overall 2.6 times as high for males as 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 (Figure 3)
• increased with age, with two-thirds (67%) of CHD hospitalisations occurring in those aged 65 and over. CHD hospitalisation rates were highest in the 75–84 age group for both males (3,900 per 100,000 population) and females (1,800 per 100,000 population).

Trends

After adjusting for differences in population age structures over time, there was a 43% reduction in the rate of hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis of CHD between 2000–01 and 2023–24. 

The annual number of CHD hospitalisations increased by 8% for males and fell by 12% for females. However, the age-standardised rate of CHD hospitalisation fell by 49% for females and 40% for males (Figure 4).

Variation by priority population groups

In 2023–24, CHD hospitalisation rates were:

• 1.1 times as high for people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas compared with those in the highest socioeconomic areas
• around 1.4 times as high among those living in Remote and very remote areas compared with those in Major cities. This largely reflects disparities in female rates, which were 1.9 times as high in Remote and very remote areas as in Major cities – while male rates were 1.1 times as high (Figure 5).

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

Deaths

In 2024, CHD was the underlying cause of 16,300 deaths, at a rate of 60 per 100,000 population. CHD was the second leading single cause of death in Australia (8.7% of deaths), behind dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (9.4% of deaths). Among males, it remains the leading cause of death (AIHW 2024). CHD was the cause of 38% of all CVD deaths with around 1 in 3 (34%) CHD deaths (5,500) resulting from AMI (heart attack).

Age and sex

In 2024:

• after adjusting for differences in the age structure of the populations, CHD death rates were 2.2 times as high for males as for females
• CHD death rates increased with age, with 44% of deaths occurring in people aged 85 and over. CHD death rates for males and females were highest in the 85 and over age group – 4.1 times and 6.9 times as high for males and females aged 75–84, respectively (Figure 6)
• CHD was responsible for a large proportion of premature deaths before age 75, especially in the male population – 39% of males dying from CHD were aged less than 75 years, compared with 17% of females.

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

Trends

CHD death rates have been declining in Australia since the late 1960s. Between 1980 and 2024:

• the number of CHD deaths declined by 48%, from 31,000 to 16,300
• age-standardised CHD death rates declined substantially, by 85% for males and 87% for females (Figure 7).

The decline is largely due to reductions in population risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, as well as improvements in medical and surgical treatments.

Variation by priority population groups

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

• 1.7 times as high for people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas compared with those living in the highest socioeconomic areas. The difference was similar among males and females
• 1.7 times as high among people living in Remote and very remote areas compared with Major cities (Figure 8).

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