When John Carter developed a dry cough in 2022, he had no idea it was a sign of heart failure.

“My heart was unable to remove the fluid that had built up in my body, and as a result, my lungs filled up with fluid,” he said.

“That’s why I was coughing all the time.”

Mr Carter was rushed to Wonthaggi Hospital in Bascoast, Victoria, where he remained for approximately nine days.

Since then, he has undergone several grueling procedures to restore his heart health.

“I also had an ablation to correct the arrhythmia.”

Many other people in Carter’s area have heart health issues.

Heart disease accounts for 8.9 per cent of all long-term health conditions in Wonthaggi, more than double the Victorian average of 3.7 per cent, according to 2021 census data.

Heart disease accounts for at least 5% of all long-term health conditions in very remote, suburban and inner-regional areas of Victoria.

Geelong and Melbourne, the state’s major cities, accounted for 3.3%.

The 2022 National Health Survey, released late last year, found people living in Australia’s outback regions were more likely to suffer from heart, stroke and vascular disease than those living in major cities – 7.3% and 4.6% respectively. It was discovered that he was infected.

Local heart disease patients are “isolated”

As part of his recovery, Carter entered an eight-week rehabilitation program run by Bass Coast Health.

“It not only restores people’s physical well-being and health, but more importantly their mental well-being,” he said.

But Christian Verdicchio, chief executive of Peer Support Australia, a national organization that helps Australians living with heart disease through peer support, said that once community heart patients have completed rehabilitation, they are typically “almost They are left alone,” he said.

“It’s very difficult to find a general practitioner. Some local cardiologists will probably go to the clinic once a month,” he said.

Peer Support Australia seeks to fill a long-term support gap for people with heart disease by establishing free monthly group meetings where stories and advice can be shared.

”[People can] Talk to each other about any symptoms or issues they may be experiencing, not just their condition, but perhaps the subsequent operation of the health care system,” Dr. Verdicchio said.

“Typically, people start to improve their overall quality of life. People around the room are doing very well and sharing their experiences and how they got out of it.”

Carter knew she wanted to help others when her health allowed, so when she was asked to lead a peer support group at Wonthaggi, she jumped at the opportunity.

“We can all rely on each other and help each other overcome our own unique challenges,” he said.

Mr Carter believed the biggest barrier facing heart patients in the region was the long travel time to seek help.

“The Wonthaggi Heart Support Group is almost a central location for people in this area,” he said.

Australia’s ‘major killer’

Stephen Nicholls, director of the Victoria Heart Institute at Monash University, said communities were facing higher rates of heart disease due to a range of complex issues.

”[Rates of heart disease are] “That rate is higher in communities that are doing more economically economically,” he said.

“We know chronic stress is an issue. We know bushfires are an issue. Climate and the environment are a bigger issue in terms of their impact on heart disease and risk. I am also aware that

“All these issues, mental health, metabolic risk factors… they’re all much more prevalent in rural communities than in metropolitan areas.”

Late last year, a Monash University study found that 85.8 per cent of adults in sampled areas were living with at least one unaddressed risk factor for heart disease.

As part of the Gippsland Healthy Heart Study, researchers conducted pop-up heart testing at six locations across Victoria.