Higher mortality and hospitalisation rates for heart failure in regional and rural NSW than in the Sydney metropolitan area has prompted further research into one of Australia’s leading causes of death.
Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher and academic cardiologist Dr Lexin Wang is seeking to unravel the mystery surrounding the higher heart failure death rates in rural NSW1 as part of on-going research into risk factors relating to heart failure.
He will be joined by Emergency Physician at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital Dr Shane Curran as co-investigator on the 12 month project. Dr Curran is also an adjunct Associate Professor at CSU.
“The study, funded by CSU and due to commence in March, will investigate why there are more deaths and hospital re-admissions for heart failure in rural and regional NSW with the aim that these results will ultimately improve the treatment and care of patients,” said Dr Wang.
Heart failure is a leading cause of death among Australians2 . In 2002, almost 1 000 people died from heart failure in NSW and more than 13 000 were hospitalised for heart failure treatment in the state over the same period1.
“The NSW Department of Health figures show that a high death rate and re-hospitalisation from heart failure in 2002 was reported in the Greater Southern Area Health Service in NSW, covering the Riverina Murray regions, as well as the outer regional and remote areas,” said Dr Wang.
“While numerous medical and socio-economic factors such as access to specialist health care facilities may account for the difference in heart failure outcomes between regional and metropolitan NSW, my study will focus on the drug treatments of patients at two of the major regional referral hospitals at Broken Hill in the state’s far west and Wagga Wagga in southern NSW.
Key parts of the study include:
- Evaluate the optimal use of three major drug groups for heart failure - angiotensin-concerting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) and ß-blockers, at the Broken Hill and Wagga Wagga base hospitals in the last four years;
- Assess the therapeutic monitoring of an important medication to strengthen heart muscle contractions, a positive inotropic drug known as digoxin.
“The identity of patients will not be collected during the study and will not be revealed in any stages of the project. The study aims to assess the implementation of current therapeutic guidelines in patients admitted to these hospitals,” stressed Dr Wang.
As a senior lecturer in clinical pharmacology within the University’s Faculty of Health Studies, Dr Lexin Wang is also an Honorary Professor of Cardiology at Taishan Medical College in China. With his main research interests in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, Dr Wang was awarded the Vice-Chancellor Award for Research Excellence by Charles Sturt University in 2002.
[1] Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Department of Health. http://www.health.nsw.gov.au.
[2] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2002, Australia’s Health 2002, Canberra. AIHW.
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