Healing the heart after an acute cardiac event

Article published in InPsych

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

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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.

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A practical tool for screening your patients

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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)

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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. 

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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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