Heart disease: the number one killer of Australians

It's likely that you or someone close to you will at some time be directly affected by heart disease – the world's leading cause of death and disability. In Australia it claims a life every 11 minutes. 

Even those who survive a heart emergency can be left with damaged heart muscle. Many are permanently disabled. Hundreds of thousands of Australians live with this tragic legacy of heart disease every day.

And it's not just older people who are affected. Poor diet and lack of exercise are putting younger Australians at risk. It's alarming to know that some children are showing the early signs of heart disease.

The cost of heart disease to the community can be measured in the billions of dollars. The human cost – to individuals and to the people who love them – is beyond calculation.

A second chance at life: Neil and Sue Clubb know first-hand the importance of cardiac research. Read this story

Pioneering research

Heart Research Australia supports cardiac researchers who are fighting heart disease at the very limits of current knowledge. Their work is exacting and expensive. But it offers possibilities that would have sounded like science fiction just a few years ago. For example, repairing heart muscle with stem cells. There's also exciting progress on a new treatment for heart failure.

More about research

Urgent need

Many of these lifesaving ideas would go unexplored, without your support. Since 1986, our donors have made it possible for Heart Research Australia to provide over $20 million to life saving research.

The advances in treatment and prevention over these years have been nothing short of incredible. But much more needs to be done, if we're to reduce the devastating impact of heart disease on our community.

Please take this opportunity to make a donation to our work and help us save lives.