By Jaidyn Kennedy
The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is conducting a series of trials to reduce high rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease in Wyndham, and the community is invited to participate.
At its Hoppers Crossing facility, the institute is trailling unique care programs to improve risk factors for diabetes and heart disease and to keep people out of hospital.
According to associate professor Melinda Carrington, who heads community prevention and cardiac research, participants from Wyndham display risk factors for heart failure at a higher rate than most of the country.
“Our results show that nearly 20 per cent of people who participated [in our research since 2020] had either dangerously high cholesterol or blood pressure or were deemed to be at high risk for developing heart disease,” she said.
“Another one in three people were referred for more advanced testing which identified calcium deposits in the heart’s arteries for 65 per cent of participants, which can be a marker of increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.”
Dr Carrington said these study results should serve as a reminder for people to get regular heart checks.
“The significance of these results shows the importance of knowing your risk by getting a heart health check and following advice on how to minimise it,“ she said.
The clinic is using several forms of intervention to treat patients with heart failure and delay the progression of the disease.
These include intensive education on self care post hospital discharge, home and remote visits by a cardiac nurse to review symptoms, risk factors and ensure medication is at an optimal dose.
To monitor the potential onset of dementia symptoms, the clinic also uses exercise intervention by exercise physiologists and cognitive interventions by neuropsychologists.
The institute has also recently tested a new drug for people with early-stage or asymptomatic diabetes to avoid heart failure and are using an e-health app to deliver cardiac rehab from home.
Details: baker.edu.au/research/clinical-trials
