February 20, 2025 • 12 mins
Tasmania is second only to the Northern Territory for the number of heart related deaths per capita - this Red Feb, Olivia Hicks looks at what we can do to improve our heart health.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Thousands of Tasmania and sour at risk of heart disease,
but few realize that keeping their heart healthy can also
help protect their brain memory and reducing the risk of
conditions like dementia as they age. Tasmania is second only
to the Northern Territory for the number of heart related
deaths per capita. But it's not just your heart at stake.
(00:25):
Your brain health depends on it too. But how exactly
can you make sure you look after both. I'm Olivia
Hicks and this is iHeart Tasi, I Heart Dazzy. Seventy
year old Hobart businessman Edward Harry knows keeping active is
good for both your mental and physical health, so it
became a shock when his doctor told him he needed
(00:47):
major heart surgery. It all stemmed from a hit of
golf with his good friend who suggested he get a
stress test.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Was my golf farmer noticed that I was doing a
little bit of you know, a bit when I'm going
on the golf course, and he asked me, had I
ever had a stress test? And I said, no, what's
that all about? And you explain that you have this
You get on this running machine and you do a
series of tests, you're connected with the whole heap of
tables and so forth, and anyway, that led to further
(01:16):
tests which then revealed that my heart was only half
filling with blood after exercise and.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
It needed immediate attention.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Then they revealed that my archeries to my heart were
not functioning as they ought to, and that resulted in
a Quentucky bypass operation with open art surgery. Course, you know,
they harvest veins some other parts of your body and
your leg and arm and so on, and they use
the good veins to replace the ones that are affected
(01:46):
and replumbed.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
In other words, how did that make you feel? I mean,
it must have been quite a shocking result to receive.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, it's quite interesting about that, because I guess in
this day and age, you have a lot of confidence
in many surgeons and the medical profession. And I looked
upon it as being good thing to do. I wasn't
overly stressed about it, to be perfectly honest, and I
knew that I'm probably one of the lucky ones who
went and had the stress test prior to any major
(02:16):
event like a strope or a massive heart attack.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Edward's story is not an isolated one. Sydney cardiologist doctor
Edward Barron says heart disease is still Australia's number one killer.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I think the spetistics somewhere along the lines of we
lose two people every hour and about one hundred and
fifty people present to emergency units every day with a
heart attack. There's a lot of heart disease and there's
a lot of concern.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Tasmania is second only to the Northern Territory for the
number of heart related deaths per capita. According to data
from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more than
thirteen hundred Tasmanians die each year from idiovascular disease and
more than eleven three hundred are hospitalized. The Northwest of
Tasmania faces particular challenges when it comes to heart disease,
(03:09):
with the death rates twenty four percent higher than the
national average and well above other parts of the state.
According to the Department of Health, fare are over thirty
thousand Tasmanians living with the ongoing effects of heart disease
or stroke. This is in part due to our population
being older and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors
(03:30):
in Tasmania being higher than national average, with our rate
of obesity the worst in Australia. Symptoms of a heart
attack include tightness or pain in the chest, neck, back
or arms, as well as fatigue, lightheadedness, abnormal heartbeat, and anxiety.
Women are more likely to have atypical symptoms than men.
(03:51):
Now doctors are focusing on preventing and keeping hearts healthy
from an early age.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It became obvious to me, being single practice have been
in the job for over thirty years now that we're
doing pretty well with heart disease in terms of preventing
further heart attacks. They survive the event or we happily
prevent them having the event, and they keep going. As
they keep going and they get older, one of the
(04:18):
pitfalls is that the brain suffers.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Being active and eating well has been proven to feed
both your heart and your brain.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
We now pivot beyond the heart and say, look, it's
not just about the heart. The good news that whatever
you do for your heart is actually good for your brain.
So then the next question becomes, well, where do we
start DOCA? What can I do? And on that note,
luckily heard research Australia has got this paradigm which was
dissolved quite a number of years ago called the four
(04:49):
M and it really sympathized the frameworks of where we
start coming.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Up next on our heart TASI we take a closer
look at that brain and heart connection and what is
is heart research Australia's Red fib I heard azi.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I hearts as he This.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Red February is Red fib Heart Research, Australia's Heart Awareness month,
dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and encouraging Australians
to wear red and donate to fund vital research.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Millions of US are at risk of heart disease and
for this year's campaign, we're talking about the heart and
brain connection because a few people realize that keeping their
heart healthy can also protect your brain, your memory and
your cognitive functions, and that helps reduce risks of conditions
like dementia as we age, and heart health and brain
(05:42):
health are intimately connected. The brain relies on a steady
supply of blood from the heart and conditions like high
blood pressure and high cholesterol can destruct blood flow and
that increases the risk of stroke in cognitive decline and
that includes dementia. So really, what good for your brain
is also good for your heart.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
That's Nikki Dent, CEO of Half Research Australia. She stresses
the importance of taking proactive steps now and we call that.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
The four m's approach, so that meals movement, measurement and
mental wellness.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
So for Meal's, high.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Cholesterol levels cannot only block the arteries of the heart,
increasing the risk of heart disease, but also those leading
to the brain, impairing blood flow which is crucial for
cognitive health. And recent Australian research has demonstrated that high
cholesterol tops key role in Alzheimer's disease and other types
of dementia. So in terms of food, avoid processed foods
(06:45):
and keep up your diet simple, healthy and fresh. The
second M is the movement. As we age, it's really
important to start incorporating functional strength training focusing on balance
and strength into our weekly routines and that's along with
aerobic exercise like walking.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
The third M is.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
For measurements, So regular health checkups to monitor blood pressure,
your cholesterol and your blood sugar are really really crucial.
Knowing your numbers is key to preventing cutt invesculate disease
and helping to protect cognitive functions, and the last M
is for mental wellness.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So high blood.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Pressure and high cholesterol off and go I noticed in
daily if we call them the silent killers, but they
can significantly harm both your heart and your brain, impacting
cognition and memory. So beyond knowing your numbers and managing
these respectors, incorporate regular mindful moments ince your day. And
that can be sort of stepping out and having a
(07:45):
mindful coffee, thinking what it feels like go on your tongue,
or a short break out in the park or some
breaks that allow you to reset your thinking can greatly
support cognitive and kind ivascular health.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Heart health checks are simple, quick and non invasive. Doctors
sess key risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and
lifestyle habits, offering tailored advice to help protect your heart.
Edward says testing saved his life in the case.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
My situation was ever stress test, and that is what
kicked it all off. If I hadn't ha done that,
then I wouldn't have had the operation. And if I
hadn't had the operation, well, then where would I been out?
Would I still be okay?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I had a heart attack?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Would I had a stroke? So I really feel that
the message, the message I'd like to give the people
out there is get these tests, get them done. They're
there to we have, get them done.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
While heart disease is one of the leading causes of
death in Australia, many of its risks, such as smoking,
poor get high blood pressure, and lack of exercise, are preventable.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
So one in three adults generally have high blood pressure,
and that increases two four in five among those seventy
five years an odd What is a disease that sort
of builds up over time. I mean, young people do
have heigh events early on and that's always a bit
of a shock. And they could be family history, there
(09:11):
could be underlying conditions that people can't do anything about.
But generally it's a disease that sort of builds up slowly.
But you know, you've got to be very mindful of
the science and symptoms of heart attacks.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
In Australia or on four hundred and twenty one thousand
people are living with dementia in twenty twenty four, a
number projected to double twenty fifty four. In twenty twenty five.
They are an estimated eleven thousand people living with all
forms of dementia in Tasmania. This figure is projected to
increase to an estimated sixteen thousand, five hundred by twenty
(09:47):
fifty four. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia,
but Tasmanians living with poor heart health are at risk
of developing vascular dementia. It can occur when not enough
blood reaches the brain, causing brain damage. Clothes and narrowed
blood vessels may cause a stroke, which can result in
a lack of blood getting to the brain. A person
(10:08):
with vascular dementia may develop symptoms suddenly, such as behavioral changes,
difficulty moving, and a reduced ability to think logically. Doctors
say looking after your heart could reduce your risk.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
I often ask my patients do you have any fun?
What do you like to do? Can you do more
of it? So that given't that mental positivity, that optimism,
something to look forward to the engagement. If they're about
to retire, I say to them, look, can you make
sure you've got something to keep you mentally alert and happy?
Otherwise you'll be sitting in a corner of the streaming
tea all day. So in that framework, I find that
(10:44):
it's really helpful then to explain to the patients and
they can see where they're maybe lacking in attending to
their health risk factors.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Full vascular dementia include having high blood pressure, being overlay
or abes, having diabetes and have high cholesterol. For example,
pluque might narrow the utter is of a person with
high cholesterol. This could cause a blood clot and reduce
blood flow around the body and to the brain. Older
Australians can reduce their risk of vascular dementia by engaging
(11:15):
in physical activity and eating a balanced and healthy diet.
Heart Research Australia has launched a free thirty minute webinar
are called Healthy Heart, Sharp Mind, to help Tasmanians learn
more about the four simple steps to improve heart and
brain health.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
There's all sorts that people are doing, all sorts of
different things that people organizing dinners, they're doing walk there's
very different runs on. People are celebrating in the raising
awareness in lots of different ways, so it really color
depends what fits in for you. We invite everybody to
wear red and donate during the month of February and
(11:52):
you can sign up at Heart research dot com dot AU.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
How thankful are you to your friend on the golf
course that day.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
I'm very thankful to Rot. Indeed, I'm pleased that I
had to make it yesterday, and I suppose equally these
please that I took you advice.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And that's it for iHeart Tazzy for this week. If
you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to the
iHeart Tazzy podcast feed on the iHeart app or wherever
you get your podcasts, and if you'd like, you can
leave us a review while you're there. I'm Olivia Hicks.
Thanks for your company.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
iHeart Tazzy.
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Thousands of Tasmania and sour at risk of heart disease,
but few realize that keeping their heart healthy can also
help protect their brain memory and reducing the risk of
conditions like dementia as they age. Tasmania is second only
to the Northern Territory for the number of heart related
deaths per capita. But it's not just your heart at stake.
(00:25):
Your brain health depends on it too. But how exactly
can you make sure you look after both. I'm Olivia
Hicks and this is iHeart Tasi, I Heart Dazzy. Seventy
year old Hobart businessman Edward Harry knows keeping active is
good for both your mental and physical health, so it
became a shock when his doctor told him he needed
(00:47):
major heart surgery. It all stemmed from a hit of
golf with his good friend who suggested he get a
stress test.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Was my golf farmer noticed that I was doing a
little bit of you know, a bit when I'm going
on the golf course, and he asked me, had I
ever had a stress test? And I said, no, what's
that all about? And you explain that you have this
You get on this running machine and you do a
series of tests, you're connected with the whole heap of
tables and so forth, and anyway, that led to further
(01:16):
tests which then revealed that my heart was only half
filling with blood after exercise and.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
It needed immediate attention.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Then they revealed that my archeries to my heart were
not functioning as they ought to, and that resulted in
a Quentucky bypass operation with open art surgery. Course, you know,
they harvest veins some other parts of your body and
your leg and arm and so on, and they use
the good veins to replace the ones that are affected
(01:46):
and replumbed.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
In other words, how did that make you feel? I mean,
it must have been quite a shocking result to receive.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, it's quite interesting about that, because I guess in
this day and age, you have a lot of confidence
in many surgeons and the medical profession. And I looked
upon it as being good thing to do. I wasn't
overly stressed about it, to be perfectly honest, and I
knew that I'm probably one of the lucky ones who
went and had the stress test prior to any major
(02:16):
event like a strope or a massive heart attack.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Edward's story is not an isolated one. Sydney cardiologist doctor
Edward Barron says heart disease is still Australia's number one killer.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
I think the spetistics somewhere along the lines of we
lose two people every hour and about one hundred and
fifty people present to emergency units every day with a
heart attack. There's a lot of heart disease and there's
a lot of concern.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Tasmania is second only to the Northern Territory for the
number of heart related deaths per capita. According to data
from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more than
thirteen hundred Tasmanians die each year from idiovascular disease and
more than eleven three hundred are hospitalized. The Northwest of
Tasmania faces particular challenges when it comes to heart disease,
(03:09):
with the death rates twenty four percent higher than the
national average and well above other parts of the state.
According to the Department of Health, fare are over thirty
thousand Tasmanians living with the ongoing effects of heart disease
or stroke. This is in part due to our population
being older and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors
(03:30):
in Tasmania being higher than national average, with our rate
of obesity the worst in Australia. Symptoms of a heart
attack include tightness or pain in the chest, neck, back
or arms, as well as fatigue, lightheadedness, abnormal heartbeat, and anxiety.
Women are more likely to have atypical symptoms than men.
(03:51):
Now doctors are focusing on preventing and keeping hearts healthy
from an early age.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
It became obvious to me, being single practice have been
in the job for over thirty years now that we're
doing pretty well with heart disease in terms of preventing
further heart attacks. They survive the event or we happily
prevent them having the event, and they keep going. As
they keep going and they get older, one of the
(04:18):
pitfalls is that the brain suffers.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Being active and eating well has been proven to feed
both your heart and your brain.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
We now pivot beyond the heart and say, look, it's
not just about the heart. The good news that whatever
you do for your heart is actually good for your brain.
So then the next question becomes, well, where do we
start DOCA? What can I do? And on that note,
luckily heard research Australia has got this paradigm which was
dissolved quite a number of years ago called the four
(04:49):
M and it really sympathized the frameworks of where we
start coming.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Up next on our heart TASI we take a closer
look at that brain and heart connection and what is
is heart research Australia's Red fib I heard azi.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I hearts as he This.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Red February is Red fib Heart Research, Australia's Heart Awareness month,
dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and encouraging Australians
to wear red and donate to fund vital research.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Millions of US are at risk of heart disease and
for this year's campaign, we're talking about the heart and
brain connection because a few people realize that keeping their
heart healthy can also protect your brain, your memory and
your cognitive functions, and that helps reduce risks of conditions
like dementia as we age, and heart health and brain
(05:42):
health are intimately connected. The brain relies on a steady
supply of blood from the heart and conditions like high
blood pressure and high cholesterol can destruct blood flow and
that increases the risk of stroke in cognitive decline and
that includes dementia. So really, what good for your brain
is also good for your heart.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
That's Nikki Dent, CEO of Half Research Australia. She stresses
the importance of taking proactive steps now and we call that.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
The four m's approach, so that meals movement, measurement and
mental wellness.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
So for Meal's, high.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Cholesterol levels cannot only block the arteries of the heart,
increasing the risk of heart disease, but also those leading
to the brain, impairing blood flow which is crucial for
cognitive health. And recent Australian research has demonstrated that high
cholesterol tops key role in Alzheimer's disease and other types
of dementia. So in terms of food, avoid processed foods
(06:45):
and keep up your diet simple, healthy and fresh. The
second M is the movement. As we age, it's really
important to start incorporating functional strength training focusing on balance
and strength into our weekly routines and that's along with
aerobic exercise like walking.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
The third M is.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
For measurements, So regular health checkups to monitor blood pressure,
your cholesterol and your blood sugar are really really crucial.
Knowing your numbers is key to preventing cutt invesculate disease
and helping to protect cognitive functions, and the last M
is for mental wellness.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
So high blood.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Pressure and high cholesterol off and go I noticed in
daily if we call them the silent killers, but they
can significantly harm both your heart and your brain, impacting
cognition and memory. So beyond knowing your numbers and managing
these respectors, incorporate regular mindful moments ince your day. And
that can be sort of stepping out and having a
(07:45):
mindful coffee, thinking what it feels like go on your tongue,
or a short break out in the park or some
breaks that allow you to reset your thinking can greatly
support cognitive and kind ivascular health.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Heart health checks are simple, quick and non invasive. Doctors
sess key risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and
lifestyle habits, offering tailored advice to help protect your heart.
Edward says testing saved his life in the case.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
My situation was ever stress test, and that is what
kicked it all off. If I hadn't ha done that,
then I wouldn't have had the operation. And if I
hadn't had the operation, well, then where would I been out?
Would I still be okay?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I had a heart attack?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Would I had a stroke? So I really feel that
the message, the message I'd like to give the people
out there is get these tests, get them done. They're
there to we have, get them done.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
While heart disease is one of the leading causes of
death in Australia, many of its risks, such as smoking,
poor get high blood pressure, and lack of exercise, are preventable.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
So one in three adults generally have high blood pressure,
and that increases two four in five among those seventy
five years an odd What is a disease that sort
of builds up over time. I mean, young people do
have heigh events early on and that's always a bit
of a shock. And they could be family history, there
(09:11):
could be underlying conditions that people can't do anything about.
But generally it's a disease that sort of builds up slowly.
But you know, you've got to be very mindful of
the science and symptoms of heart attacks.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
In Australia or on four hundred and twenty one thousand
people are living with dementia in twenty twenty four, a
number projected to double twenty fifty four. In twenty twenty five.
They are an estimated eleven thousand people living with all
forms of dementia in Tasmania. This figure is projected to
increase to an estimated sixteen thousand, five hundred by twenty
(09:47):
fifty four. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia,
but Tasmanians living with poor heart health are at risk
of developing vascular dementia. It can occur when not enough
blood reaches the brain, causing brain damage. Clothes and narrowed
blood vessels may cause a stroke, which can result in
a lack of blood getting to the brain. A person
(10:08):
with vascular dementia may develop symptoms suddenly, such as behavioral changes,
difficulty moving, and a reduced ability to think logically. Doctors
say looking after your heart could reduce your risk.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
I often ask my patients do you have any fun?
What do you like to do? Can you do more
of it? So that given't that mental positivity, that optimism,
something to look forward to the engagement. If they're about
to retire, I say to them, look, can you make
sure you've got something to keep you mentally alert and happy?
Otherwise you'll be sitting in a corner of the streaming
tea all day. So in that framework, I find that
(10:44):
it's really helpful then to explain to the patients and
they can see where they're maybe lacking in attending to
their health risk factors.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Full vascular dementia include having high blood pressure, being overlay
or abes, having diabetes and have high cholesterol. For example,
pluque might narrow the utter is of a person with
high cholesterol. This could cause a blood clot and reduce
blood flow around the body and to the brain. Older
Australians can reduce their risk of vascular dementia by engaging
(11:15):
in physical activity and eating a balanced and healthy diet.
Heart Research Australia has launched a free thirty minute webinar
are called Healthy Heart, Sharp Mind, to help Tasmanians learn
more about the four simple steps to improve heart and
brain health.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
There's all sorts that people are doing, all sorts of
different things that people organizing dinners, they're doing walk there's
very different runs on. People are celebrating in the raising
awareness in lots of different ways, so it really color
depends what fits in for you. We invite everybody to
wear red and donate during the month of February and
(11:52):
you can sign up at Heart research dot com dot AU.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
How thankful are you to your friend on the golf
course that day.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
I'm very thankful to Rot. Indeed, I'm pleased that I
had to make it yesterday, and I suppose equally these
please that I took you advice.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And that's it for iHeart Tazzy for this week. If
you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe to the
iHeart Tazzy podcast feed on the iHeart app or wherever
you get your podcasts, and if you'd like, you can
leave us a review while you're there. I'm Olivia Hicks.
Thanks for your company.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
iHeart Tazzy.
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