What is a Heart Health Check?

A Heart Health Check is the patient-friendly term for comprehensive cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment and ongoing management.

The 20-minute check includes:

Gathering information about a patient’s CVD risk factors
Calculating and recording their absolute CVD risk using a validated calculator
Managing their risk as per the Absolute Risk Guidelines on an ongoing basis.

The delivery of Heart Health Checks in primary care is now supported by Medicare. On April 1st 2019, two items were introduced onto the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS): Items 699 and 177. Eligible patients can now receive a Medicare rebate when they get a Heart Health Check from a GP (Item 699) or other healthcare professionals (Item 177) working in primary care.

These MBS items support the specific assessment and management of absolute CVD risk in primary care for eligible patients 45 years and over (30 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients).

Modelling over the next 5 years has indicated that up to 76,500 CVD related events (including heart attacks, strokes and deaths) could be prevented with the uptake of Heart Health Checks over the next five years.

Heart Health Check Overview