Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 9—Health 335
In 1998 cardiovascular disease was the leading
cause of death in Australia, accounting for 40%
of all deaths (50,797 deaths). Ischaemic heart
disease accounted for 22% of all deaths, and
cerebrovascular diseases a further 9%. Between
1997 and 1998, cardiovascular age-standardised
death rates for males declined from 224 to
208 deaths per 100,000 persons, and female
rates from 133 to 123 deaths per 100,000.
National statistics on deaths of Indigenous people
are not available because of incomplete recording
of Indigenous status in the death records of some
States and Territories. However, in 1998 data on
deaths were considered to be of acceptable
quality from Queensland, Western Australia,
South Australia and the Northern Territory. In
1998 the leading cause of death among the
Indigenous populations in these four States and
the Northern Territory was diseases of the
circulatory system, which accounted for 27% of
all Indigenous male deaths, and 33% of all
Indigenous female deaths. The median age of
Indigenous persons who died from circulatory
diseases was 60 years, compared with 81 years
for the total population (based on deaths from
Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia
and the Northern Territory).
compared with 22% for non-cardiovascular
diseases (AIHW 2000). Age-standardised male
death rates for diseases of the circulatory system
have declined from 843 per 100,000 persons in
1968 to 285 in 1998 (graph 9.10), while the rate
for females declined from 548 to 188
(graph 9.11). Since 1987 the average annual rate
of change has been 3.9% for males and 3.7% for
females.
Age-standardised death rates for males from
Ischaemic heart disease declined from 498 per
100,000 persons in 1968 to 171 in 1998. A similar
trend was apparent for females; their rates
declined from 250 to 93. The decline in
Ischaemic heart disease over this period is mainly
attributable to the reduction in the prevalence of
smoking, better control of blood pressure, a
general reduction of saturated fats in diets and
improved management of the disease
(AIHW 2000).
The age-standardised death rate from
cerebrovascular disease for males declined from
183 per 100,000 persons in 1968 to 56 in 1998,
and for females from 168 to 51. As with Ischaemic
heart disease, the decline in rates of
cerebrovascular disease has been attributed to
changes in lifestyle and improvements in the
management of the disease (AIHW 2000).
Since the early 1970s there has been an overall
decline of 66% in cardiovascular death rates,
9.10 DISEASES OF THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM(a), Males—1968 to 1998
rate(b)
1000
Diseases of the circulatory system
Ischaemic heart disease
Cerebrovascular disease
800
600
400
200
0
1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996
(a) Age-standardised to the 1991 mid-year population. (b) Per 100,000 population.
Source: AIHW Mortality Monitoring System.