Mid and North Coast HealthPathways has a comprehensive suite of resources to support assessment and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.
A key resource is the CVD risk assessment pathway, which was reviewed in 2023 after the Heart Foundation’s updated Australian CVD risk calculator was launched.
The new calculator provides a more detailed and nuanced assessment of individual risk factors, such as location, ethnicity, family history and blood pressure. There is also a wider recommended age range for assessing CVD risk in patients, ensuring a broader scope of applicability.
“On the North Coast, the number of hospitalisations due to CVD is above the national average,” said local GP and Clinical Editor at Healthy North Coast, Dr Claire Cooper.
After assessing a patient using the risk calculator, clinicians can find helpful resources on the HealthPathway to support ongoing patient care. These include links to detailed HealthPathways for management of smoking cessation, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and weight, as well as referral options for physical activity support.
“We’ve also provided some links to patient information sheets that can be really useful for communicating CVD risk with patients, helping them to understand the risk and also how to proactively manage it,” added Dr Cooper.
HealthPathways info:
- Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Assessment
- Username: manchealth
- Password: conn3ct3d