FED: Heart disease set to hit baby boomers

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FED: Heart disease set to hit baby boomers

By Judy Skatssoon, National Medical Writer

SYDNEY, April 28 AAP - Baby boomers face a grim reminder that they will not live foreveras they move into the high-risk category for heart disease, a new study shows.

The Lost Years of Living study, released by the National Heart Foundation today, showscardiovascular disease (CVD) is stalking the ageing baby boomer generation.

The study is a warning that CVD could rob baby boomers not only of their retirementand a leisurely twilight but their lives.

Cardiovascular disease is already responsible for killing almost 52,000 Australiansa year - more than any other disease, with one death every 10 minutes.

One in three people who die from CVD die prematurely.

Heart foundation principal executive officer and director of cardiovascular healthprograms, Dr Lyn Roberts, said the study confirmed CVD would massively increase as ithit the generation of Australians moving into their 40s and beyond.

"This places the baby boomer generation in the frontline of risk," she said.

"Over the next two decades baby boomers will be moving inexorably into the embrace of CVD."

Leading businessman and former Qantas CEO James Strong underwent bypass surgery whichsaved his life in 2001 at the age of 56 after suffering a blockage in his artery.

Mr Strong was fit, slim and active when he began experiencing what he first thoughtwas heartburn during a business trip in France.

He said the problem was picked up during a checkup, highlighting the need for constantvigilance and personal responsibility.

Despite being physically fit, Mr Strong said his family had a history of coronary diseaseand the condition had been passed on.

"I still consider myself young, extremely fit and in fact at the very peak of my corporateachievements," he said.

"It was an unbelievable shock when I realised how easily I could have died."

Professor Phil Harris, deputy president of the heart foundation, said a number of factorsapart from hereditary predisposition and age had contributed to the baby boomer risk.

These included rising rates of obesity and diabetes, which ruled out the positive effectsof a drop in smoking rates and improved surgical interventions.

AAP jjs/sco/br

KEYWORD: HEART