The shock death of Labor senator Kimberley Kitching has prompted a warning about heart disease and a type of heart attack that can occur in healthy younger women, often without warning.
Senator Kitching died suddenly from a suspected heart attack on Thursday, less than a week after cricketing legend Shane Wane is believed to have died for the same reason.
Although less than 5 per cent of heart disease occurs in people younger than 55 in Australia, both were aged just 52 years old.
Executive director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Jason Kovacic said whereas Warne had a number of risk factors for heart disease, Senator Kitching did not appear to.
Noting the specific factors in Senator Kitching’s case were not publicly known, Professor Kovacic said she was the typical demographic for a condition called spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD).
“SCAD is a disease which affects females 10 times more commonly than males,” he said.
“It classically occurs in middle-aged females and they tend to have few if any traditional cardiovascular risk factors – so they usually don’t smoke, they are not diabetic, they are not overweight and they have no cholesterol problems.”
He said SCAD was a partly genetic disease somewhat like a tearing of the blood vessels.
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute has worked with groups around the world to identify several genes associated with it.
A major international study is currently being carried out to try and get even more answers.
Professor Kovacic said there were several potential triggers for SCAD that included extreme physical activity, trauma (like car accidents) and even childbirth and the postpartum period.
Significantly, Professor Kovacic said stress also had a link to both SCAD and heart attacks generally.
It comes after Bill Shorten told ABC Radio through tears on Friday that Senator Kitching had been under “immense stress” from political “backroom machinations”.
“We know after any catastrophic event happens, like earthquakes or tsunamis, there is a spike in heart attacks the week or so afterwards,” Professor Kovacic said.
He said stress caused adrenaline and hormone surges, making the heart rate go up along with other changes, increasing stimulation that could then trigger a heart attack.
Professor Kovacic said Warne’s smoking, unhealthy “see-saw” diet and having caught Covid-19 all increased his risk of heart disease.
“Unfortunately, we know Shane Warne had several risk factors – he was a smoker, he had a pretty questionable diet which would see-saw between fatty foods and crash diets and he had also had Covid in the past year,” he said.
“Covid approximately doubles your risk of having a heart attack in 12 months after that.”
Professor Kovacic said a large scientific study from the US found the risk of heart diseases grew progressively depending on the severity of the Covid illness – noting that Warne was put on a ventilator after becoming infected.
He slammed any commentary that suggested vaccination led to Warne’s heart attack.
“Vaccination significantly reduces your chanxjmtzywces of getting critically unwell from Covid, so we therefore believe it will be protective against Covid-related heart disease,” he said.
Professor Kovacic said while vaccination had been linked to rare cases of myocarditis – an inflammation of the heart muscle – there were not any reports of it leading to heart attacks.
He said by the age of 75, one in four Australians would have heart disease and it was the leading cause of death – so it was important people monitored the common causes.
“It’s really important people are not smoking, they are getting their blood pressure and cholesterol checked and doing diabetes screening and management,” he said.
