A new Healthy Living Clinic offering cardiac rehabilitation and a risk prevention service has officially opened in Launceston.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The clinic comes in the wake of Tasmania’s growing heart disease crisis, with the highest rate of cardio vascular disease (CVD) found in Launceston and the state’s north east.
Located at the Charles Clinic, the newly dedicated heart care service was officially opened on Friday by Tasmanian Minister for Health, Michael Ferguson.
Mr Feguson said the government has a goal of making Tasmania the healthiest population in Australia by 2025, but cannot dictate how people live their lives.
“Our Healthy Tasmania five year strategic plan was launched earlier this year and aims to give Tasmanians and their communities the information and tools they need to make positive and healthy changes to their lives,” he said.
“The plan aims to help people become more aware, interested, engaged and more in control of their own health and wellbeing.”
The Healthy Living Clinic offers a cardiac rehabilitation and a Healthy Heart program for people with high risk factors for cardiac disease.
Tasmania currently has the highest rate of heart disease in Australia, with 100,000 people living with unmanaged or uncontrolled high blood pressure and one in six people over 45 experiencing a combination of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The head of Charles Clinic, Dr Geoffrey Evans, said the CVD statistics in Tasmania are alarming and cardiac rehabilitation was the most clinically and cost-effective interventions in the diseases management.
“We have the fattest state in Australia,” he said.
“We have diabetes just going out of control.
“We have smoking trends that are just troubling and it actually looks like smoking rates may start to increase again.
“For me as a cardiac doctor I can see that give it three or four years I am going to see increasing rates of cardiac events.
“We are going in the wrong direction.
“The reality is that most of the things that are causing these problems are actually lifestyle choices.”
Doctor Evans said the cost of establishing the clinic was well over $100,000, with limited lines of funding currently available for similar life-changing services.
“Rehabilitation can reduce hospital admissions and death within the first year after a coronary event by as much as 56 and 30 per cent respectively,” he said.
“Preventative heart programs such as this are a vital community investment.
“Put simply they save lives and money.”