Monash University-led research found one in five Australian adults cannot name one heart attack symptom, with heart related hospital admissions in Hume and Whittlesea higher than the national average.
The research project examined awareness during and after a 2010-2013 campaign to increase knowledge about heart attack warning signs.
Professor and lead author Janet Bray said the findings were alarming and new strategies were needed to ensure Australians knew what to do if they experienced symptoms.
“We need the public to know heart attack symptoms and to call an ambulance,” she said.
“Calling an ambulance allows treatment to start immediately and ensures that they can be taken to a hospital that offers the right treatment.”
According to the Heart Foundation, heart related hospital admissions in 2012-16 in Hume were 48.4 per 10,000 people compared to the national average of 42.3 per 10,000 people.
These numbers were similar in Whittlesea, where heart related hospital admissions between 2012-16 was 48.2 per 10,000 people.
In Hume, coronary heart disease mortality in 2012-20 was 67.9 per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 63.8 and the state average of 60.2 per 100,000 people.
Both Hume and Whittlesea have each been named as one of the eight municipalities included in the Heart Matters education program providing free heart health education sessions until March 31, 2023.
The latest research also found awareness that chest pain is a heart attack symptom fell from 80 per cent in 2010 to 57 per cent in 2020.
“Every Australian should be able to recognise heart attack symptoms and the need to respond quickly and call triple-0 for an ambulance,” Ms Bray said.
“Every minute, more heart muscle dies and the chance of complications like cardiac arrest increases.”
Heart Foundation reported, 157 people in Australia are hospitalised daily due to heart attacks, with twice as many men experiencing a heart attack.
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