What is heart disease?

Heart disease refers to a group of conditions that can affect your heart, including coronary heart disease and heart failure. In the early stages of heart disease, you may not notice any symptoms. Understanding your risk of heart disease can help you take steps to reduce it and to protect your heart.

Am I at risk of heart disease?

There are many risk factors for heart disease — some you can't control, but some you can.

Risk factors you can't control include:

• age — your risk increases as you get older
• gender — your risk increases at an earlier age if you're male. If you're female, your risk may be affected by complications you experienced during pregnancy and your risk increases after menopause.
• family history of heart disease — particularly in a first degree relative, such as parent, sibling or child
• ethnic background — your risk increases at an earlier age if you're of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander ethnic origin

Risk factors you can control include:

• high blood pressure
• smoking
• high cholesterol
• diabetes
• diet, especially if you carry excess weight
• low levels of physical activity
• heavy alcohol intake

When you find out the results from your assessment, you should discuss them with your doctor and act to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Should I check my heart disease risk?

You should have an assessment of your risk for heart disease done by your doctor at least every 12 months, if you're:

• aged 45 years or older
• an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person aged 30 years or older
• living with diabetes aged 35 years or older

What happens during a heart disease risk assessment?

Your doctor may do a few things to assess your heart health and risk of heart disease. These include:

• recording your age — the older you are, the higher your risk of heart disease
• finding out if you have a family member with heart disease — if you do, this increases your risk
• asking you about your lifestyle — such as your diet, physical activity, smoking status and alcohol intake
• asking about your mental health — some mental health problems like depression can increase your heart disease risk
• measuring your blood pressure, cholesterol level and blood sugar level
• measuring your weight and waist circumference
• performing an electrocardiogram

Your doctor will use the results of the assessment to calculate your heart disease risk, either using a risk chart or an online calculator.

What follow-up is involved?

Your doctor will discuss your test results with you and any follow-up needed. They will let you know if you're at low-, intermediate- or high-level risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years.

Your doctor will help you to develop a plan to reduce your risk in the short and long term.

Changes you may be able to make include:

• eating more healthily
• becoming more physically active
• quitting smoking (if you smoke)
• reducing your alcohol intake

Your doctor may also:

• advise you on how often you should have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked
• prescribe you medicine if you're at higher risk
• refer you to a dietitian

What are the symptoms of heart disease?

Symptoms of heart disease may include:

• chest pain that is worse on exertion
• shortness of breath on exertion and while lying flat
• palpitations

You should see your doctor if you are experiencing these symptoms.

What tests might I need to check if I have heart disease?

If your doctor suspects you may have heart disease, they may also arrange further tests, including:

• echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) — this gives a picture of the structure of your heart, including the heart's walls, chambers and valves
• electrocardiogram (ECG) — to measure your heart's electrical activity
• stress tests — to show how hard your heart works during exercise
• coronary angiogram or coronary computed tomography (CT) angiogram — to see whether blood flow to and from the heart is reduced or blocked
• coronary artery calcium screening (CAC) — a type of computed tomography (CT) scan that measures the calcium in your blood vessels

Resources and support

• The Heart Foundation offers action plans to improve your heart health and gives you a step-by-step guide to improving your lifestyle.
• Eat healthy with the Heart Foundation's heart healthy recipes.
• Be active by joining or leading a Heart Foundation walking group for free.
• Learn about annual health checks with this easy-read fact sheet by the Australian Government.
• The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has a fact sheet on coronary artery calcium screening (CAC).