1.4 million Aussies at high risk of stroke or heart attack over next 5 years unless prescribed life-saving medication

An Australian National University (ANU) researcher warns that 20 percent of Australians aged 45 to 74 are at a high risk of heart attack or stroke in the next five years. That’s because they are not prescribed life-saving medication, says a news study.

The study, the first to quantify risk of cardiovascular ailments in Australia, says those at risk must take a mixture of medications that would lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Published in the Medical Journal of Australia, the research had more than 9,500 subjects aged 18 and above who took part in the 2011-12 Australian National Health Measures Survey.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Australia, notes Professor Emily Banks from ANU, reports ABC. To measure the absolute risk of a primary cardiovascular disease (CVD) event over the next five years without prior CVD, the study used the Australian National Vascular Disease Prevention Alliance (NVDPA) risk assessment and risk management algorithm.

Those who got less than 10 percent were considered at low risk, those who got 10 to 15 percent were classified as moderate risk and those who got more than 15 percent were listed as at high risk of CVD. After analysis, the researcher say 71.5 percent of those aged 45 to 74 were at low risk, or 5.2 million people; 8.6 percent, or 625,000 people, were at moderate risk; and 11.2 percent, or 811,000 people, were at high primary risk.

However, including those with prior CVD boosts the numbers to 19.9 percent. By gender, more men, or 25.8 percent, are at high risk compared to 14.2 percent for women.

The authors note that the NVDPA guidelines recommend combining both BP-and lipid-lowering drugs, together with lifestyle advice. The UK and US recent guidelines, though, changed the recommendation for lipid-lowering treatment to those with 10-year CVD risk.