A person suffers a heart attack every 10 minutes in Australia, with about one in four people not showing any traditional risk factors before it happens.
Leading Sydney-based cardiologist and researcher Gemma Figtree is at the forefront of work trying to identify people at risk before a heart attack occurs.
Professor Figtree will take people behind the science of heart disease and how to treat it before it becomes life-threatening in a free talk in Nedlands on November 11.
The University of Sydney’s professor in medicine and chair of the cardiovascular initiative, and interventional and imaging cardiologist at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital, will present Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research’s annual oration.
Camera IconProfessor Gemma Figtree will share how her research could change the future of heart disease. Credit: Supplied
Professor Figtree is part of the institute’s scientific advisory committee, chief scientific officer at coronary artery disease research non-profit CAD Frontiers and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2023.
Her talk titled “Innovation to achieve early detection and treatment of coronary artery disease before a heart attack – the mission of CAD Frontiers” will detail the challenges behind her ground-breaking research — from the laboratory to large-scale studies and clinical trials — that aims to understand why some people are more susceptible to heart attack and how outcomes for patients can be improved.
Audience members can discover why finding a way to identify “silent” coronary artery disease before a heart attack could be a game-changer and how research into blood biomarkers and new treatments could potentially lead to a world without heart attacks.
They can hear directly from Professor Figtree about one of the biggest challenges facing Australia’s health system and the possibilities that emerge when science, medicine and innovation join together.
The talk is on November 11 at 6.30pm at the institute’s McCusker Auditorium in Nedlands.
Register for free via perkins.org.au.