In Australia, GPs are responsible for managing patients with heart failure (HF), including coordinating multidisciplinary care, referral to specialists, and prescribing pharmacological interventions. It may be surprising to some that sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of mortality in people with HF. Despite this, cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) such as cardiac resynchronisation therapy, or CRT are widely underutilised, with only around a third of eligible patients actually receiving a device.

With 1 in 4 Australian adults suffering from urinary or faecal incontinence, we are all going to have patients in our waiting room who are either already diagnosed and being treated, or suffering in silence due to stigma and embarrassment. For many patients, there is a misconception that their symptoms are a normal consequence of aging, with many women waiting up to 6.5 years before seeking medical advice. In this interview, we discuss the overactive bladder treatment journey.

The Baker T2D Miniseries, Part 4: Almost two-thirds of cardiovascular disease-related deaths in Australia occur in people with diabetes or prediabetes. The mortality rate in people with type 2 diabetes almost doubles with the coexistence of cardiovascular disease, resulting in an estimated 12-year reduction in life expectancy. The new National Heart Foundation Guidelines for assessing and managing cardiovascular disease have recently been published and recommend the use of a new Australian cardiovascular disease risk calculator. In this interview, we discuss these new guidelines and specifically how they relate to people with type 2 diabetes.

Tackling Hypertension Head-On Miniseries, (Part 2): In this interview, we focus on how to manage patients using cardiovascular risk-based approaches in light of traditional hypertension guidelines, and how these compare to the latest updates in international guidelines. Additionally, we delve into the ongoing development of tools designed to aid in addressing the challenges associated with hypertension management, offering an insight into what’s to come.

Menopause Miniseries (Part 3): This is the third interview in Drivetime Medical’s series on managing menopause in primary care. So far we have covered the midlife women’s consultation with Dr Kelly Teagle, the impact of menopause on mental health with Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, and in this interview, we look at the enormous effect menopause symptoms can have on women at work, and if untreated the extent of that effect. The chances are, it is affecting one of your patients, you or someone working for you.

Tackling Hypertension Head-On – Miniseries, (Part 1): Raised blood pressure is the leading cause of death in the world resulting in almost 11 million deaths each year, or 30,000 deaths each day, and here in Australia, it is also the leading risk factor for death, yet 68% of people with hypertension are uncontrolled. The good news is, we have an excellent healthcare system, so there is really no reason why we cannot improve substantially to become among the best in the world in hypertension care! In part one of this series we discuss the goals of the newly established National Hypertension Taskforce of Australia, strategies for managing resistant hypertension, key issues of medication adherence, and new treatment options.

This audio file contains all 4 interviews in this edition.

• Track 1, part 2 Menopause is a huge process, it’s a brain problem as well as a body problem
• Track 2, part 3 The importance of managing iron levels throughout pregnancy
• Track 3, Lipid targets, what’s good enough?
• Track 4, What’s new with pacemakers

To view reference lists or product information please go to the individual tracks.

The Baker – Lipid Series (Part 1).

While survival rates for cardiovascular disease have improved over the past 50 years, it remains the biggest killer, and the most expensive group of diseases to treat in Australia.

Although there is clear evidence now that elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a major contributor to significant cardiovascular events, there remains a large unmet need for better lipid control. Many patients are either not receiving any lipid-lowering therapy, and for those being treated, almost half are not at target.

In this interview, we are looking at the importance of optimal lipid management to minimise the risk of cardiovascular events.

Miniseries: Micronutrients during the first 1000 days of a child’s life, from conception through the first two years. Part 3: In this interview, we are exploring the impact of pregnancy on maternal iron demands as well as the factors that affect iron absorption and metabolism. While iron supplementation is not routinely recommended for all pregnant women, there are known risk factors for becoming deficient during pregnancy. We unpack strategies to identify and prevent iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in pregnancy.