The tragic death of cricket legend Shane Warne has been the necessary push that Aussie men needed to get them to the doctor’s office.
Warxjmtzywne died suddenly last week of a suspected heart attack while on holiday on Koh Samui Island in Thailand.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price told the Herald Sun that doctors had reported a remarkable rise in men making appointments with their GP after the news broke.
“Fifty to 60 per cent said people came in talking about it (Shane Warne’s death) and then wanted to know information about their own heart health,” Dr Price said.
The legendary spinner’s death came as an incredible shock to many Australians – his life cut tragically short at just 52 years of age.
However, Warne’s long-time physician from his time playing for the Australian Test side, Dr Peter Brukner, said the suspected heart attack did not come as a surprise to him.
“Warnie, if he had heart disease, which it sounds like he did, you know, that didn’t happen overnight in Thailand,” Dr Brukner told Triple M Perth.
The Herald Sun reported that traffic to The Heart Foundation’s website searching for heart attack content doubled in the 24 hours after Warne’s death.
The most clicked content last week was the warning signs of a heart attack and a Heart Age calculator tool that allows people aged between 35-75 to estimate their risk of heart disease.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt also took the opportunity to urge Australians over 50 to get their heart checked.
“It is a tragic reminder of the risks that people face in their 50s,” Mr Hunt told a press conference on Friday morning.
“And it is important to have our heart checked.”
