Heart Disease the Leading Cause of Death in Australia, But Data Reveals More Complex Picture

Coronary heart disease remains the most common underlying cause of death in Australia, being the main cause for men and the second most common (behind dementia) for women and, in total, connected with about 20 percent of all deaths. Dementia was the second highest as it contributed to 18 percent, followed by hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, and diabetes. But new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a far more complex picture, revealing that 81 percent of deaths are due to more than one cause. The data is from 2022 and it shows there were 190,939 deaths registered that year (99,924 males; 91,015 females). Less than 1 percent occurred among children aged 0­–4 years, while over two-thirds (68 percent) were among people aged 75 and over....