Two websites from St Vincent's Hospital with culturally appropriate content, featuring images, animations, videos and stories that you can use with your patients. 

Click the images to view the website

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Australian guidelines for prevention, diagnosis and management  of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. 

Click the image to visit the website.

Many resources on the teach-back technique for health care providers. The teach-back technique is used to ensure that health providers have explained medical information clearly so that patients and their families understand what is communicated to them. This intervention includes several materials to support adoption.

Click the image to access the resource 

Easy-to-understand information from the Heart Foundation on heart-healthy drinks.

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Comprehensive resource on world wide alcohol consumption. 

Our World in Data: Alcohol Consumption. Article by H. Ritchie & M. Roser. 

Click the image to access the resource.

Alcohol's effects on the cardiovascular system. 

Article by Mariann R. Piano 

To access the article, click here

WA, VIC, SA, or NT Buying an ambulance subscription with your state ambulance service provider is required to ensure you are covered for all ambulance services, not just emergency.

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QLD or TAS You are automatically covered for ambulance services through your state government within your state. Check with your state ambulance service provider for details regarding national cover and non-emergency transport.​

NSW and ACT Residents in their home state, government works with your hospital cover for emergency transport. ​

Angina is temporary chest pain or discomfort caused by the coronary artery becoming blocked by plaque and the heart not getting enough blood and oxygen.

The cause is usually coronary heart disease, but it is not the same as a heart attack because the symptoms are usually temporary and there is no permanent damage to the heart.

Guidelines and clinical information on Atrial Fibrillation.

Click on the image to visit the resource 

1. The National Health Survey: First results. This survey presents key findings for health statistics including long-term health conditions; mental wellbeing; and health risk factors. To access the survey results, click here 

2. Causes of death, Australia - 2019. Statistics on the number of deaths, by sex, selected age groups, and cause of death classified to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). To access the information, click here

3. Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First results – Foods and Nutrients. Provides a snapshot of food and nutrient consumption. Analysis and data cubes include average consumption and proportion derived from each food group. To access the information, click here. 

The full guidelines and a summary from the National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand can be found here. 

Click the image to view the guidelines

The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations.

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1. The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) is compiled from data supplied by the state and territory health authorities. It is a collection of confidential electronic summary records for separations (that is, episodes of care) in public and private hospitals in Australia. Click here to access the data.

2. Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Australia 2015. This report analyses the impact of more than 200 diseases and injuries in terms of living with illness (non-fatal burden) and premature death (fatal burden). Click here to access the report.

3. Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia. Information on non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs. To access the information, click here 

For advice and support about depression and anxiety, your patient can call 1300 224 636.

Click the image to visit the website. 

A video created by the New Zealand Heart Foundation that explains blood pressure

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Around 75% of people experience the ‘Cardiac Blues’ after a heart event. 

Read the following resources to help your patient manage and recover from the cardiac blues. 

Northern Territory guidelines for cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention. 

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Heart Foundation material for health professionals to recommend to their patients. 

Click the link to view visit the website

This Heart Foundation resource explains what cardiac rehabilitation is and patients can find a cardiac rehabilitation service. 

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Content and resources for health professionals with useful cardiac rehabilitation. 

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For information and resources for carers, call 1800 422 737

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A video created by the New Zealand Heart Foundation that explains cholesterol.

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Easy-to-understand information from the Heart Foundation on blood cholesterol. 

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National Heart Foundation of Australia & Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand: Australian Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Acute Coronary Syndromes 2016

Authors: Chew DP, Scott IA, Cullen L, et al

To view the article, click here

Pdf of iCCnet CHSA management of chest pain and suspected acute coronary syndrome. 

Click the image to read the pdf

Paper by Heart Online.

Click image to access the paper or dowload PDF file.

It is important to understand consumer communication preferences for healthcare information content and access points. 

This rapid review presents a summary of the evidence around consumers’ needs and preferences for information about healthcare safety and quality.

Click on the image to view the report. 

CHF was engaged and funded by NPS MedicineWise as the lead agency to plan and implement a project, Consumer Health Literacy Segmentation Research.

The Consumer Segmentation Research contributes to improving consumer health literacy as it relates to quality use of medicines (QUM) through the implementation of research to:

1. Understand the current status of health literacy amongst Australians

2. Inform future NPS MedicineWise Grant activities

3. Support the principles and objectives of the National Medicines Policy.

To access the final report, click the image.

Coronary angiogram is a procedure to view the coronary arteries, to work out which ones may have narrowed and in the case of a heart attack the location of the blocked vessel. Also called catheterisation.

Visit this great site by St Vincent's Hospital about Angiograms 

https://www.svhhearthealth.com.au/procedures/procedures-treatments/coronary-angiogram

Coronary arteries : The blood vessels that supply the heart are called coronary arteries; they sit on the surface of the heart. They are approximately the size of a charging cable. My Heart, My Life Booklet One chapter one has a good image of coronary arteries.

Coronary heart disease : Occurs when a coronary artery clogs and narrows because of a build-up of plaque. This can lead to a heart attack and/or angina. My Heart, My Life Booklet One chapter one contains good images to help explain this. 

COVID-19 specific information and resources for health care professionals.

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Screening, referral and treatment for depression in patients with coronary heart disease.

Article from The Medical Journal of Australia 

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Easy-to-understand information from the Heart Foundation about diabetes and its impact on heart disease. 

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The peak body in Australia for diabetes information, advocacy and patient support.

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Article from the Heart and Diabetes Institute. Diabetes: the silent pandemic and its impact on Australia.

Edited by Associate Professor Jonathan Shaw, Associate Director, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute and Stephanie Tanamas, Epidemiologist, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, with input from Diabetes Australia and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)

To access the article, click the image.

A series of videos and resources from St Vincent's Hospital for your patients

Animation video to explain angiogram: svhhearthealth.com.au/procedures/procedures-treatments/coronary-angiogram (0.54)​

Animation video to explain stenting: https://www.svhhearthealth.com.au/procedures/procedures-treatments/coronary-angioplasty-and-stenting (1.05)​

Animation video to explain coronary artery bypass graft: https://www.svhhearthealth.com.au/procedures/procedures-treatments/cardiac-bypass-surgery (0.58)​

Management of dyslipidaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes in Australian primary care

The objective of this research was to examine the frequency of dyslipidaemia and treatment with lipid-lowering drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes managed in Australian primary care.

To access the article, click here

An electrocardiogram test (ECG) will give a picture of the electrical flow through the heart and give us information if a particular location in the heart has an issue.

This document is for doctors, nurses or medical students who have forgotten (or never really understood) ECGs.

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Information on coronary heart disease and mental health.

To access this resource, click the image. 

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for coronary heart disease

Authors: Anderson L, Thompson DR, Oldridge N, et al

To access the article, click here

Healing the heart after an acute cardiac event

Article published in InPsych

Authors: Murphy B, Higgins R, Clarke J, Rogerson M, Jackson A

To access the article, click here

Provides evidence-based information to inform practice and policy in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, including heart health. 

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Health literacy is about how people understand information about health and health care, and how they apply that information to their lives, use it to make decisions and act on it. Health literacy is important because it shapes people’s health and the safety and quality of health care.

Article by Anne Johnson that provides contextual information about health literacy and its importance to health care, nursing, and health consumers.

To access the article, click here 

To determine if patients are in the healthy weight range by accurately measuring waist circumference and calculating BMI, click on the image below.

What is a heart attack : A heart attack can happen when a coronary artery becomes blocked by a build-up of plaque. The plaque can rupture, forming a blood clot, which means blood and oxygen cannot reach the heart. This damages the heart muscle, leading to a heart attack. Health professionals sometimes use different names for a heart attack, such as ‘myocardial infarction’, or ‘MI’ for short, ‘STEMI’ (more severe) or ‘non-STEMI’ (less severe).

Guidelines for the prevention, detection and management of heart failure in Australia in 2018.

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The Heart Foundation Heart Maps allow you to take a closer look at heart disease indicators across Australia. You can see how state, region, or local governments compare for:

1. Heart-related hospital admissions (2012-18)
2. Coronary heart disease death rates (2013-17)
3. Heart-related risk factors such as obesity (2017-18), smoking (2017-18), physical inactivity (2017-18) and hypertension (2017-18)

At a state/territory and regional level you can drill further into the specific types of heart-related hospitalisations. These includes rates for; acute coronary syndrome, atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, rhythm, and valve disease admissions, as well as the higher level classifications of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.

Click the image to access the Heart Maps

A practical tool for screening your patients

To download the tool, click here 

Heart Foundation resources for you to use with your patients. Health professionals can order up to 50 copies for FREE.

Visit the Heart Foundation Shop by clicking on the image below

Please note, this e-learning is updated regularly but please note that our resource offerings may change

These action plans can help your patients to make small steps towards achieving their healthy lifestyle goals

Nutrition ​

Physical activity​

Healthy weight

Heart attack warning signs​

Quit smoking​

Diabetes ​

Blood pressure​

Cholesterol and triglycerides​

Alcohol​

Psychological and social health​

Easy-to-understand videos and one activity about the heart, how it works and what a heart attack is.

Video on how the heart works (1:20) ​

What is a heart attack video (1.50)

Click the image to view the Heart Foundation activity

For patients to sign up to a free walking group or get their six-week Personal Walking Plan to motivate them to be active.  

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For a video on Personal Walking Plans, click here ​

Easy-to-understand information from the Heart Foundation on diagnosing a heart attack.

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This Heart Education Assessment Rehabilitation Toolkit (HEART) provides information to support clinicians to deliver evidence based care.

It includes information on health literacy, tips for education interventions, resources for patient education and information for behaviour changes. 

Click on the logo to visit the website

The guidelines that are included on this application are the acute coronary syndrome, atrial fibrillation and heart failure. 

It includes algorithms and calculators to support guideline-based diagnosis and therapy. Click on the image to download the app.

Clinical information for the diagnosis and management of hypertension.

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This can be used as a patient and professional teaching tool. Uses an augmented reality model of a human heart to explain normal heart function, myocardial infarction, arterial hypertension, and atrial fibrillation. Cost approx. $4

To view the website, click the image below

Global Burden of Disease Study for 2019.

To discover the world's health data, click the image.  

Clinical information, tools, resources and guidelines for lipid management.

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For information on medications and to search medications for Acute Coronary Syndrome and their indications/contraindications, click the image.

For patients to keep track of medicines and access important health info anytime and anywhere, especially in emergencies, your patients might find the NPS Medicinewise app very useful. It if funded by the Department of Health. Click on the image to view the app. 

Health professionals can test the program and sign-up their service or clinic.

Click on the image to visit the website

An information booklet for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients after they have had a heart attack or angina.

A free Heart Foundation program for patients who have had a heart attack or angina. They receive an information booklet in hospital if your hospital is registered with the program. Patients must sign up to receive book two, this will be sent to their home. 

Click image to visit the website

Patients can download the Heart Foundations e-recipe books. Click on the image to access the site

You can also recommend the Heart Foundations Healthy recipes and Heart Healthy Dinner plan to your patients.​

Heart Foundation website for nutrition information and video on portion sizes can be found here.​

Please note, this e-learning is updated regularly but please note that our resource offerings may change

The position statements include:

Heart Healthy Eating Patterns​
Meat and Heart Healthy Eating ​
Eggs and Heart Healthy Eating ​
Dairy and Heart Healthy Eating ​
Dietary Fat and Heart Healthy Eating​
Salt  ​
Fish and Seafood ​
Phytosterol/Stanol Enriched Foods ​
Heart Foundation Nutrition Recommendations (2019)​
Alcohol ​

Click on the image to visit the website

Patients want to know about the ‘cardiac blues’

The aim of this study was to investigate patients’ preferences regarding information provision about cardiac blues.

To access the article, click here

From Journal of The Royal Society of Medicine. 

Author: RPC Kessels. 

A link to the article can be found here 

A Pathway to Cardiac Recovery Standardised program content for Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation: This provides evidence-based direction and guidance on the content to be delivered in Phase 2 Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) programs, whether face to face or via telehealth.

For the full resource, click here

For the quick guide, click here

For more information on exercise and heart conditions, click the image below

Easy-to-understand resource from the Health Foundation about physical activity, it's benefits and how to be more physically active.

Click the image to visit the webpage.

https://walking.heartfoundation.org.au

Impact of primary coronary angioplasty delay on myocardial salvage, infarct size and microvascular damage in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Insight from magnetic resonance.

Authors: Francone MC, Bucciarelli-Ducci C, Carbone I, et al.

To access the article, click here

Australian Government Department of Health website for advice and support about stopping smoking.

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Supporting smoking cessation: A guide for health practitioners

Click the image to access the guide.

A series of Heart Foundation videos that you can use or recommend to your patients.

Step 1: Know your diagnosis: Watch this video (6.44)​

Step 2: Know and manage your risk factors: Watch this video (5.00)​

Step 3: The Importance of cardiac rehabilitation: Watch this video (2 mins)​

Step 4: Taking your medication: Watch this video (2.00) ​

Step 5: Know the warning signs: Watch this video (3.00)​

Step 6: Encourage follow up with your doctor: Watch this video (1.07)​

https://www.quitnow.gov.au

Since one in every 33 conversations will lead to a patient successfully quitting smoking, it's time you start the conversation now.

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An easy-to-understand resource on how smoking impacts your heart health.

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Clinical information and links to SCAD resources.

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Heart Health information provided by St Vincent's Hospital. 

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Access the Heart Foundation's range of clinical and patient support resources.

The Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association is the peak body which provides support and advocacy for multidisciplinary health professionals to deliver evidence-based best practice across the continuum of cardiovascular care.

To visit their website, click on the logo

The impact of cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention programs on 12-month clinical outcomes: A linked data analysis.

To access the article, click here

The teach-back technique is a tool that health professionals can use when communicating with clients who have low health literacy. It assists service providers improve client comprehension.

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HEART online article on treating and managing angina.

Click on image to visit article

Resources for your patients to help them identify the warning signs of a heart attack. Health professionals can order up to 100 copies for FREE.

Click the image to visit the Heart Foundation Shop​

Please note, this e-learning is updated regularly but please note that our resource offerings may change

Providing support, education and social connection to young people aged 18-45 who is living or caring for someone with a heart condition.

For more information, click on the image.