Heart condition twice as common in Indigenous people
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Research from the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide shows Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns suffer from a serious heart rhythm disorder twice as commonly as non-Indigenous people.
A study in the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s is the first of its kind to detail the prevalence of atrial fibrillation among Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is characterised by an abnormal beating of the heart. It is an increasingly common heart rhythm disorder and associated with a risk of stroke, heart failure and death.
Researchers studied the data of more than 200,000 people managed at the Royal Adelaide Hospital over a 10-year period in South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥. The results, published in the journal , show that Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns diagnosed with atrial fibrillation were significantly younger, with an average age of 55 years compared with 75 years for non-Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns.
"In patients aged under 60 years, Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns had double the rate of atrial fibrillation compared with non-Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns," says lead author , from the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
"We confirmed the results of previous studies showing that Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns develop other cardiovascular diseases and at a younger age. Our study now shows, however, that atrial fibrillation can be added to the list of conditions contributing to the greater burden of death and disease being experienced by Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns," Dr Wong says.
"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first assessment of atrial fibrillation in Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns. This is important to know as the complications of atrial fibrillation can be reduced with appropriate management."
Dr Wong says another issue identified by the study is the fact that Indigenous people with AF had significantly larger diameters of the left atrium in the heart, and greater rates of dysfunction in the left ventricle.
"These differences in cardiac structure and function may in-part explain the excessive prevalence of AF seen in younger Indigenous people which is likely to be contributing to the disparity in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns," he says.
"Based on this study, we now need to see whether strategies to prevent and manage atrial fibrillation can help to reduce the burden of this condition seen in Indigenous ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ns."
Contact details
Email: c.wong@adelaide.edu.au
Postgraduate Researcher
Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders
The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide
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Mobile: 0413 407 168
Mr David Ellis
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Deputy Director, Media and Corporate Relations
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