Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the very important private members' motion put forward today by the member for Macarthur in regards to atrial fibrillation. I want to thank him and the member for Bennelong for bringing this very important issue to the attention of the House. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and effort by the hearts4heart foundation on this very important health issue, and I want to also recognise the outstanding contribution of its CEO and founder Ms Tanya Hall, who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about what is a very serious health condition for Australians.

As the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Heart and Stroke Foundations, I have had the privilege of co-hosting a number of events here at Parliament House with my colleague, the member for Capricornia. I want to thank her for her contribution here today as well. Our group co-hosts events that allow this parliament to be informed on heart and stroke issues and to educate members and senators about preventive measures and about recent innovations in this area. One such event I was honoured to host as the co-chair of this friendship group was the Feel the Beat breakfast, which we had here at Parliament House on 5 September. The aim of the breakfast was to raise awareness of the growing epidemic of atrial fibrillation and to highlight the importance of improved screening, diagnosis and treatment for those affected by arrhythmias, and in this case, of course, we're talking about catheter ablation. The strong attendance at this breakfast—which did include the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education and Training, the shadow Assistant Treasurer, the shadow parliamentary secretary for health and many other colleagues, members and senators—highlighted to me just how important this issue is to each parliamentary colleague and their constituencies.

On that day, the CEO of hearts4heart, Tanya Hall, launched the white paper into atrial fibrillation, and everyone who attended the breakfast had the opportunity to attend a free heart screening test. I undertook that screening, as did my other colleagues. I'm happy to say that I got a very good report. It was all good, so I have a very minor chance—I understand you, Deputy Speaker Mitchell, took the test as well. You're one per cent, and I'm 0.8 per cent, so we're on a good ticket. We have a very minimal chance of developing heart arrhythmias for the time being. However, many Australians aren't so lucky and may not have the access to preventative screenings such as we did, and they may not be lucky enough to have healthy and strong hearts. Therefore, they may be vulnerable to all sorts of heart disease.

Prior to the Feel the Beat event, I had the opportunity to meet with Tanya Hall and talk about the challenges that she faced in her journey as a sufferer of AF. She talked about the pain of living with heart disease and the way in which it severely impacted her life and hindered many aspects of her life and activities. She also described to me, with great passion and conviction, the live-saving catheter ablation procedure, which has changed her life fundamentally. This innovative, non-invasive procedure has allowed Tanya to live a rich and full life and one that she has, to her credit, now devoted to advocating for AF and to fighting for the rights of patients who are currently suffering from this disease.

Atrial fibrillation is a major public health issue. It is one of those issues that require the immediate attention not only of this parliament but also of the government. AF affects at least half a million Australians, and associated with it is a very high risk of stroke and heart failure. Some 30 per cent of AF sufferers remain undiagnosed, and the conventional treatment that is currently available is not as effective as the alternative. Up to 40,000 Australians have the potential of leading fuller and healthier lives through best practice treatment, and that best practice treatment is catheter ablation. Yet, as we have heard, catheter ablation does not fit the criteria of the Prostheses List, and patients often have to wait up to two years to receive this life-saving treatment. Attention from government on this issue is imperative. It must happen, and it must happen now.

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