(07-01-11) Heart disorder rises 200 percent in Australia over last 15 years

by David Gutierrez, staff writer

(NaturalNews) The frequency of a common heart condition has increased by more
than 200 percent in Australia in the past 15 years, according to a study
conducted by researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Cardiovascular
Research Center at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and presented at the European
Society of Cardiology's Scientific Congress in Stockholm, Sweden.

"This study highlights the enormous public health burden of atrial
fibrillation on hospitals and the need for not only better treatments for this
increasingly common condition, but also preventative strategies to stop it
occurring in the first place," researcher Prash Sanders said.

Researchers examined all hospitalization cases for atrial fibrillation, a kind
of irregular heartbeat, in Australia between 1993 and 2008. They found that
while the length of each admission decreased over that time, the number of
admissions rose by 200 percent -- far greater than the population increase over
that time.

"This highlights the fact that not only have the absolute number of admissions
increased significantly, but also the percentage of the population hospitalized
for atrial fibrillation is continuing to increase at an alarming rate,"
researcher Chris Wong said.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained heartbeat disorder in the
world. It is normally considered a minor problem, but can become serious
without treatment.

"Importantly, left untreated, it can have devastating consequences such as
stroke and death," Wong said. "One in five strokes are due to this heart rhythm
disorder."

The researchers also found that the disorder was significantly more common
among Aboriginal Australians than among non-indigenous Australians. Indigenous
people also developed the disease an average of 20 years earlier than non-
indigenous people did, and spent twice as long in the hospital.

"In this community, their risk factors are high, and so it's presenting
earlier," Prash said.

"When they present they're sicker and have to stay a lot longer in hospital.
We really, really [have] got to spend much more time and effort in that
population to try to curtail the consequences of this condition."

Sources for this story include: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea... http:
//www.abc.net.au/news/stories/....

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