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Free heart check-ups at Peninsula Private Hospital

Apr 24, 2019

Free heart health checks will be offered to Mornington Peninsula residents throughout Heart Week to encourage people to be more proactive about their cardiovascular health.

The non-invasive blood pressure checks will be available from 29 April to 3 May and will only take a couple of minutes to complete.

Peninsula Private Hospital CEO Michelle Henderson said: “We want to create awareness for people to think about their heart health, to think about their health in general and to educate people on how important it is to have regular check-ups.”

Heart disease is the number one killer in the western world with one person suffering a heart attack every 15 minutes.

High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and family history are the most common clinical factors that increase a person’s risk of developing premature heart disease.

Interventional, structural and pacing cardiologist, Dr Gregory Szto said: “Some of these risk factors can be checked with a very simple test, such as blood pressure. Sometimes the only way to know if someone has high blood pressure is to get a check.”

High blood pressure affects one in two adults over the age of 50 in Australia, and most people are unaware they have the problem.

Dr Szto has more than 25 years’ experience as a cardiologist and is trying to encourage more people to get checked so they can avoid serious health complications in the future.

“Most people are oblivious to the fact they have significant coronary artery disease. All the risk factors don’t give symptoms until it’s too late,” Dr Szto said.

This is the first time free blood pressure checks have been made available at the hospital during Heart Week.

Peninsula Private Hospital offers comprehensive cardiothoracic interventional keyhole and open-heart surgical services, including both elective and emergency cardiac services.

“Patients can have all their cardiac needs supplied without having to leave the area, so you can come in with chest pain and have all your cardiac investigations done and treated within a short period of time,” Mrs Henderson said.

Appointments for the free heart health checks can be made online through the Peninsula Private Hospital website: www.peninsulaph.com.au

Any patient showing signs of irregular heart beat or severely elevated blood pressure will be referred to their GP or seen at the hospital straight away.