Heart Failure

Heart failure occurs when the heart begins to function less effectively in pumping blood around the body. It can occur suddenly, although it usually develops slowly as the heart gradually becomes weaker. Heart failure can result from a variety of diseases and conditions that impair or overload the heart. These include heart attack, high blood pressure, damaged heart valves or cardiomyopathy.

Every day, heart failure claims the lives of eight Australians and it’s the number one cause of hospitalisation in people over age 65. In 2018-19, 73,022 hospitalisations were the result of heart failure, with an estimated annual cost to the Australian health system of $3.1 billion.

In 2019, 4,538 Australians died from heart failure and it was an associated cause in a further 19,500 deaths.