Australian research has confirmed substantial under treatment of patients who are at risk of cardiovascular disease, with up to 70% of patients who are at a high risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years not receiving the care required to prevent these conditions.

In addition, 50% of older patients who have had a heart attack or stroke aren’t receiving the care or treatments they need to prevent a second attack.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and in Australia it is responsible for around 35% of deaths.

Evidence shows the best way to prevent cardiovascular disease is to assess a patient’s absolute risk of cardiovascular disease by conducting a comprehensive review of all possible major risk factors and treat those patients identified as high risk using evidence based therapies.

Unfortunately our study showed that many patients who are at risk are missing out on this type of care,” lead author Dr Emma Heeley from The George Institute said.

“Practitioners are also underestimating a patient’s risk. What we need to realise is that 90% of Australian adults have at least one modifiable risk factor – so there really is a lot we can do to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease in Australia.

"Prevention efforts targeted to patients at high risk will also prove highly cost-effective,” Dr Heeley added.

The results, which are published in the Medical Journal of Australia, suggest that a more considered effort is required to rationalise the guidelines for cardiovascular disease risk assessment and management, and make it simpler for clinicians.