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Updated heart check tool finds more Australians could benefit from a GP chat

A study of more than 115,000 people found twice as many now fall into the "intermediate risk" group.

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An updated tool doctors use to check heart risk is putting more Australians in the middle group. Researchers looked at more than 115,000 people aged 45 to 74 who visited a GP between 2020 and 2022, the Australian National University (ANU) said. With the updated calculator, 9.7 per cent were at high risk of a heart attack or stroke. Another 26.4 per cent were at intermediate risk, meaning in the middle. The other 63.9 per cent were at low risk. The old tool put 17.6 per cent in the high group and only 11.6 per cent in the middle. Dr Ellie Paige of QIMR Berghofer helped lead the work. "Now, more than twice as many Australians fall into the intermediate category, where a conversation with a GP about treatment could save their life," she said. The study is in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA). The Heart Foundation says people 45 and over should ask their GP for a heart check. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it says 30 and over.