Cardiovascular disease: Australian facts 2011

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a very common and serious disease in Australia with about 3.5 million people reporting having the condition in 2007-08. Despite significant advances in the treatment of CVD and for some of its risk factors, it remains the cause of more deaths than any other disease - about 50,000 in 2008 - and the most expensive, costing about $5.9 billion in 2004-05. And not all sectors of Australian society are affected equally by CVD with people in lower socioeconomic groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those living in the remote areas of Australia often more likely to be hospitalised with, or to die from CVD than other members of the population.