Key statistics: Cardiovascular disease

Statistics and information on cardiovascular disease in Australia. 

Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an umbrella term that includes heart and blood vessel diseases (e.g. coronary heart disease), and stroke, is one of Australia’s biggest health problems.

CVD accounts for one in four of all deaths, claiming the life of one person every 12 minutes.

Explore the statistics relating to CVD below.

Prevalence¹

• One in 6 people in Australia self-report as living with CVD, accounting for more than 4.5 million people.
• This represents almost 18% of the total Australian population.
• The number of people with CVD has decreased over time (declining approximately 80% since the 1980s), due to research into and improved knowledge of risk factors, medicines and interventions.
• However, CVD is still one of the most prevalent health conditions in Australia.

Deaths²

• CVD is a major cause of death in Australia; responsible for causing around one in four (24%) of all deaths.
• This means that on average, around 120 people in Australia die from CVD each day, or one person every 12 minutes.
• 40% more men die from CVD compared to women.^*
• People in lower socioeconomic groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those living in regional and remote areas, generally have higher rates of death due to CVD than other Australians⁴.^*
• Deaths from cardiovascular disease have decreased over the last 10 years.^*

_{* After adjusting for population size and age distribution.}

Hospitalisations³

• Someone is hospitalised for CVD approximately every minute, equating to over 1500 hospitalisations per day. 
• More men (40% more) than women are admitted for CVD each year. 
• Approximately $5 billion is spent each year on public hospital services for people with CVD, accounting for 11% of the total spend on hospital admissions – the largest share of any disease group⁵.