Media release: Wednesday 2 April 2025
People suffering heart attacks and angina in Australia will now be diagnosed and treated faster and more effectively thanks to a new clinical guideline for Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) released today.
The launch of the new Guideline comes as the Heart Foundation reminds people not to delay calling Triple Zero if they experience symptoms.
The updated acute coronary syndromes (ACS) Guideline provides doctors and emergency department healthcare workers with the most up to date tools and recommendations to diagnose potential heart attacks and angina.
One of the key updates is the inclusion of a new treatment pathway which involves using a more sensitive blood test to help doctors in emergency departments more rapidly determine if chest pain is a heart attack or not.
Troponin is a protein that is released into the blood when heart cells are damaged.
Heart Foundation Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Garry Jennings said the new treatment pathway more strongly recommends a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin blood test which would allow healthcare professionals to more quickly and accurately detect heart attacks when people presented for care.
The Heart Foundation is leveraging the launch of the new Guideline to remind people to be aware of heart attack symptoms and call Triple Zero (000) immediately – even if unsure.
Every minute matters with a heart attack,” Professor Jennings said. “We still have delays in people presenting for evaluation of heart attack in Australia and that’s something not for the clinicians, but for patients to consider the warning signs and act on them without delay.”
Professor Garry Jennings
Chief Medical Advisor
New South Wales resident Melissa Gardiner was 52 years old in October 2021 when she was shocked to learn she had experienced a heart attack. With shortness of breath and arm pain as her only identifiable symptoms, Melissa is now aware of the range of heart attack symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
"When I had my heart attack, I didn’t know it was a heart attack. I think when people think of a heart attack, they think of a person clutching their chest and dropping to the ground, but not everyone experiences one like that,” she said.
If the guideline is going to help people get recognised for a heart attack quicker, it is going to save lives. I’m sure plenty of people have symptoms of a heart attack, but they aren’t picked up straight away.”
Melissa Gardiner
Experienced heart attack at 52
These recommendations underpin the Heart Foundation’s MyHeart MyLife patient support program, designed to help people who have had a heart attack or been diagnosed with coronary heart disease to reduce the risk of another event and improve their quality of life.
Professor Jennings highlighted the recognition of heart attack variations as a key inclusion in the new guideline.
“In the past, heart attacks were largely understood as resulting from a narrowed and blocked artery, but we now know there are variations to this and the need for different treatments,” Prof Jennings said.
“One example would be spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a condition that primarily affects women and requires a different approach to management. As our understanding of SCAD and its underlying cause has improved, treatment has become more tailored, and this is recognised in the new guideline which now encourages healthcare professionals to consider SCAD as a potential cause of ACS.”
The guideline includes practice points which address the unique needs of priority populations with suspected or confirmed ACS.
“We know that disparities still exist in the diagnosis and treatment of heart attack in some groups of people,” explained Prof Jennings.
“These groups include women, older adults, First Nations peoples and people living in regional and remote areas. Including practice advice tailored to these groups in the guideline is a critical step to reducing inequities in the care of people with ACS.”
The guideline has been developed by the National Heart Foundation of Australia (Heart Foundation) in collaboration with the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. The Heart Foundation acknowledges partial funding from the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and Perpetual towards the development of the guideline.
The new guideline replaces the National Heart Foundation of Australia & Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand: Australian Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Acute Coronary Syndromes 2016.
It has been endorsed by 15 peak body organisations to date including:
New Australian clinical guideline for diagnosing and managing acute coronary syndromes (ACS) 2025
The Catalyst Partnership Grants Showcase event will unite more than 300 attendees for the first event of its kind in Australia: the hunt to find and fund game-changing innovations for heart health.
The Heart Foundation and HeartKids can today announce they are joining forces in a partnership which will accelerate their work towards their vision for all Australians impacted by childhood-onset heart disease.
Last updated03 April 2025