Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

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HEART AND CIRCULATORY CONDITIONS

Definition

This topic refers to those persons ever told by a doctor or nurse that they have one or more heart or circulatory conditions, and who consider they currently have one or more such conditions.

The scope of this topic differs according to the particular data aspect being considered.

For data collection purposes, and for data output relating to heart and circulatory conditions as a group of conditions, heart and circulatory conditions were defined broadly to include a range of heart, vascular and related conditions.

For output, as long-term conditions are classified to the standard ICD10 based classifications, high cholesterol was classified as being an endocrine condition in the ICD10. However for the purposes of assigning a condition group and associated action module and within module questions, it is considered a heart and circulatory condition.

Some care should be taken in using the data to ensure the scope of the topic is appropriate to the data use intended.

For the purposes of this survey, rheumatic heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, stroke and angina were assumed to be current long-term conditions (i.e. of six months or more duration), if the respondent reported that they had ever been told by a doctor or nurse that they had the condition. This reflects the likelihood of ongoing effects/consequences of those conditions. Although unlikely, it is possible that other heart and circulatory conditions could have been reported by the respondent as current, but believed by the respondent not be of six months or more duration, hence not be defined as long-term conditions in this survey.

Population

Information was obtained for all persons in the NHS and persons aged 2 and over in the NNPAS, with certain questions only asked of specific groups, as identified below.

Methodology

Respondents were asked if they had ever been told by a doctor or nurse that they had a heart or circulatory condition. A prompt card showing examples of conditions was provided to respondents. The following predefined condition categories were included on the questionnaire, with provision for interviewers to record three additional conditions if required:

• rheumatic heart disease;
• heart attack;
• heart failure;
• stroke (including after effects of stroke);
• angina;
• high blood pressure or hypertension;
• low blood pressure or hypotension;
• hardening of the arteries, atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis;
• fluid problems, fluid retention or oedema;
• high cholesterol;
• rapid or irregular heartbeats, tachycardia or palpitations;
• heart murmur or heart valve disorder;
• haemorrhoids;
• varicose veins; and,
• other (up to three conditions could be recorded).

• As this is a household based survey, people with heart or circulatory conditions who are resident in hospitals, nursing or convalescent homes, or similar accommodation were outside the scope of this survey. As a result, the survey will under-represent those with more severe conditions.
• In this survey, persons who reported they had been told they had rheumatic heart disease, a heart attack, heart failure, angina or stroke are counted as having a current and long-term condition. Even though these conditions are usually short-term events, they often result in some form of residual damage or effects, and have been treated in this survey as current long-term conditions on that basis.
• The conditions recorded are as reported by respondents. In some cases it could be expected that some conditions reported may be symptoms of other heart or circulatory conditions, or other conditions. For example, oedema may be a symptom of a heart valve disorder. Respondents were not asked to associate conditions in this way, such that both symptoms and underlying conditions may have been reported in some cases, and only symptoms or only conditions in other cases. As a result, in looking at the prevalence of certain conditions, data users should consider how related or associated conditions should be treated.
• The prevalence of most long-term illness increases with age. In drawing comparisons of prevalence between the surveys, account should be taken of the shift in the age profile of the population during the period between surveys. As a result of this Table 1 in the Australian Health Survey: First Results has been age standardised so that direct comparisons can be made.