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Are you at risk of having a heart attack or stroke?
Did you know that heart attacks are the main cause of early death in New Zealand?
New Zealand’s death rate from heart disease remains among the highest in the world.
What causes heart attacks and strokes?
Cardiovascular disease can cause heart attacks and strokes. It is caused by fatty deposits causing narrowing in the arteries. The narrowing can lead to the arteries becoming blocked, stopping blood flow to the heart muscle or part of the brain. This is called “heart attack” or “stroke”.
Harbour Health is introducing a new programme within General Practices called "EDGE", a cardiovascular management tool to help to identify and reduce people’s risk of cardio vascular disease.
EDGE was designed by a team including medical specialists and Information management specialists. It enables your primary care provider to assess your cardiovascular risk and help design care packages to suit your needs.
A Cardio vascular risk assessment assesses your risk of whether you are likely to develop angina or have a heart attack in the next five years, by looking at the following risk factors for Cardio vascular disease:
- Age
- Gender
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol level
- Diabetic status
- Smoking status
The assessment also looks at your ethnicity, family history of heart disease, your weight and physical activity levels.
Many heart attacks and strokes can be prevented by reducing your risk factors.
By being aware of your personal risk factors your primary healthcare team will be able to work with you to improve your health and reduce your risk of heart disease. These changes could include such things as medication and /or lifestyle advice.
The Ministry of Health recommends that all men aged 45 years and over and women aged 55 years and over have a cardiovascular risk assessment. If you have a risk factor
Maori, Pacific Island and Indian ethnicities are recommended to have a CVD risk assessment 10 years earlier, men at 35 and women at 45 years.
For further information
Contact your Harbour Health General Practice to find out more about this programme.
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