15.10.2005
PRESS
RELEASE
The
HeartmasterTM treadmill and HeartmasterTM bike have
been designed to revolutionise cardiovascular stress
testing in medicine.
The configurations we have
chosen is to minimise the intrinsicals and the possibilities
of misleading information by the electronics which
is utilised with this type of equipment to collect
the data from the patient. (ECG, Oximeter, Electrodes,
Software and Computer Hardware).
The concept that we apply incorporates
the above mentioned technology in a compact manner.
Our philosophy is not just to develop new technology
or equipment, instead trying to make it and redesign
it in a simple and cost effective manner as we did
prove in the mid 1990’s with the gamma probe which
today is found in almost every corner of the world
for surgical applications.
The HeartmasterTM bike is the
only system worldwide incorporating and driven by
an ECG utilising the Bruce and other protocols.
In conclusion, most of the
equipment manufactured outside Australia is also of
very good quality including the software packages
sold separately or with consoles but our system has
been redesigned to address the hidden problems as
described above, offering not just a treadmill, bike
and ECG, we also include telecardiology which will
help sport medicine in remote parts of Australia and
other regions of the World for people to have access
to professional cardiology advice without the need
to be patients.
Considering that there is a
death every 10 minutes from Cardiovascular Diseases
(CVD) in Australia, 38% of all deaths. While the Coronary
Heart Diseases (CHD) remains the most common cause
of sudden death in Australia. Stroke and heart failure
rank second and thirds of the major killers. Australian
mortality rates are significantly less than UK or
USA, but higher than Japan and France.
Furthermore, people with CVD
take more health actions than the average Australian
including primary and specialist care, pharmacotherapy,
surgeries and rehabilitation. CVD rates are much higher
among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
and the socioeconomically disadvantaged, and also
slightly in rural areas.
CVD has not ‘gone away’. It
affects the quality of life of every 1 in every 6
Australians (over 3.2 million people), increasing
to 1 in 4 by mid- century. The data reveals that 16.4%
of Australians have CVD. Since age is a risk factor,
demographic ageing will mean that 24.4% of Australians
have CVD by 2051 – 6.4 million people. 54% of Australian
adults do not exercise enough and 60% of those over
25 are overweight, with a doubling in obesity since
1980. 30% of Australians over 25 have high blood pressure
and 24% of adults still smoke, although these trends
are declining.
Heart failure prevalence is
burgeoning, although data are poor, as are diagnoses,
awareness and treatment. Direct health system costs
of CVD are estimated at $7.6 billion in 2004 (11%
of total health spending). On current trends, they
will reach $11.5 billion by 2011. Hospital inpatient
costs dominate the profile ($2.7bn) followed by pharmaceuticals
($1.7bn). 64% of CVD health spending is on people
over 64, and 80% in those over 54 years old.
In addition, indirect financial
costs incurred due to CVD are conservatively estimated
as $6.6 billion in 2004. Production losses due to
lower employment rates and premature mortality cost
$3.6 billion; carer costs 2.5 billion and other costs
$0.5 Billion. Thus the total financial costs are $14.2
billion per annum – 1.7% of GDP.
Dwarfing the financial costs
are the costs of suffering and premature death from
CVD – valued at $94 billion in 2004. The burden of
disease costs over 600,000 years healthy Australian
life annually. This is 22% of the total burden from
all illness and injury in Australia. Compared to other
diseases, CVD is the largest health cost item, with
a disproportionate share of hospital and pharmaceutical
costs. CVD is estimated to affect 67% of Australian
families.
Acknowledgements to the
National Heart Foundation publication 2005.
