Heart health will be achievable by everyone in Australia by 2050

Our vision is that heart health will be achievable by everyone in Australia by 2050

The National Heart Foundation of Australia was established in 1961 at a time when heart disease was rapidly increasing and its causes were poorly understood. Our founders set out with a clear mission to prevent heart disease, help those affected live long, fulfilling lives, and to fund the research necessary to support these goals.

In the decades since, we have made significant progress in understanding, preventing, treating, and managing heart disease. Since hitting a peak in 1968, heart disease mortality rates have dramatically decreased. Our ability to prevent heart disease has improved, we have a deeper understanding of risk factors, and treatments for those affected by heart disease have become increasingly effective.

It’s time to take action

Despite these advancements, heart disease remains Australia’s leading cause of death and disability, disproportionately affecting the most disadvantaged in our society.1 The long-term decline in heart disease has levelled off. We have growing concerns that, despite the progress of the last 50 years, people born in Australia, 2000—who will turn 50 in 2050 - could experience worse heart health than any generation before them. Although treatment options have advanced, urgent action is needed. One in six people in Australia still live with heart disease or stroke, and these conditions cause one in four deaths in Australia.²

A new approach to heart health

For too long heart disease has been viewed primarily as a biomedical issue, addressed through individual behaviour and lifestyle changes. We now understand that heart health is shaped by a wide range of social, environmental, cultural, and commercial factors, many of which are beyond an individual’s control. Heart health does not exist in isolation, rather it is deeply connected to overall wellbeing. A decline in heart health can trigger the onset of other serious health conditions. While good heart health promotes widespread improvements in overall health.

It is time to embrace a more holistic approach to heart health - one that not only encourages individuals to adopt healthier behaviours but also addresses the broader systemic factors that create heart-healthy communities.

Improving heart health for all

By 2050, people in Australia should be living longer, healthier lives, with heart health as a key pillar of this success. Achieving heart health equity is crucial to this vision. We must address the barriers that people face in maintaining heart health, ensuring that everyone - regardless of their background, location, or economic circumstances - has the opportunity to enjoy a healthy heart.

Achieving more together

Our ambitious vision for a heart-healthy Australia will only be realised through collaboration. We will work alongside communities, government, industry, researchers, healthcare professionals, supporters, people with lived experience, and volunteers to harness collective knowledge and experience, both nationally and globally. Together, we can make Australia the world’s heart healthiest nation.

We aim to catalyse a national movement towards improved health and wellbeing, with heart health at its core.

Heart health should be achievable by everyone in Australia by 2050

This is an ambitious vision, but no more ambitious than the founders of the Heart Foundation were when they got together to address our first national heart health crisis in 1961. We can now work together to achieve heart health for everyone within a generation by addressing the systemic drivers of heart disease. This includes creating healthy environments, leveraging advances in research, technology, and treatments, and doing this with the unwavering commitment of the community.