Cardiovascular health in Australia: Current state and future directions

Adopting new approaches that build on existing activities was the recommendation of The National Health Priority Areas Report on cardiovascular health, released on 4th August 1999. The report, prepared biennially for Australian Health Ministers, presented the following key recommendations for further improving the cardiovascular health of Australians: establishing a long-term national focus on heart disease; coordinating primary prevention programs across Australia; establishing a national mechanism for the production of better practice guidelines; broadening the focus of cardiovascular disease programs to give more emphasis to stroke; addressing issues of inequalities of health status among disadvantaged groups; and expanding the activities of the National Centre for Monitoring Cardiovascular Disease to allow for future strategic planning.