26 February 2019
Institute news
Institute welcomes Federal Government commitment to boost research into cardiovascular disease
The Federal Health Minister, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, this morning announced that the Government would provide $220 million from its Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for research into cardiovascular disease.
Some of our scientists were in Sydney to hear the announcement of a 10-year Mission for Cardiovascular Health, which aims to improve health outcomes through prevention strategies, earlier detection and improved outcomes for patients suffering a heart attack or stroke.
The Mission for Cardiovascular Health aims to reduce hospitalisations, develop clinical trials and new drug therapies, use the unique DNA of a patient to develop new therapies and look at why people who don’t lead an unhealthy lifestyle or have a genetic cause suffer heart attacks.
The Mission will be overseen by an appointed expert advisory panel chaired by Professor Gemma Figtree and will have a broad scope. Professor Figtree is the President of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) which aims to increase the visibility of cardiovascular disease as a National Health Priority Area in the Australian community and in government. The Baker Institute is proud to be a founding member of this important Alliance.
The $220 million investment in research will help Australia to attract the best and brightest scientists in the field to revolutionise how heart disease and stroke is diagnosed, treated and prevented.
This strategic investment will help ensure the nation plays a leading role globally in improving health outcomes, bolstering innovation, developing key partnerships with industry, and commercialising new products and devices.
The announcement today was warmly welcomed by the country’s leading cardiovascular research institutes, including the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.
Baker Institute Director, Professor Tom Marwick says this funding boost is critical to tackling the way we approach the current cardiovascular disease epidemic in Australia.
“4.2 million Australians have a cardiovascular condition and 1.2 million have been diagnosed with heart disease. After decades of falling mortality from cardiovascular disease the trend is beginning to change for the worse and we need to more aggressively pursue prevention and treatment approaches,” Professor Marwick says.
“As well as being the biggest killer in Australia, cardiovascular disease is also the most expensive disease group, costing $12 billion in 2012-13, with this cost set to rise to $22 billion in 2032-33,” he says.
“This is a critical time for cardiovascular disease in Australia, and we cannot afford to be complacent.
“We are very grateful to the Federal Government for this investment and the strong focus on medical research to drive better health.
“We now look forward to working with the Government to maintain this strong focus on cardiovascular disease to improve the heart health of all Australians.”