Heart Health Check in Biggera Waters, Gold Coast
Heart Health Checks
at Harbour Town Doctors
A heart health check is a appointment that works out your risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next five years. Your GP measures a handful of things, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, smoking and family history, and combines them into a single risk score. You leave knowing your number and what to do about it.
It is not a test for a heart problem you already have. It is a check for the ones building quietly, which is why it is offered to people who feel completely well. Most heart disease develops over decades without symptoms, and the risk factors that drive it are the ones you cannot feel.
Medicare covers a heart health check once every 12 months for eligible patients, and at Harbour Town Doctors in Biggera Waters it is bulk billed for valid Medicare card holders. No referral, and you can book it as a standalone appointment.
Bulk Billed
Medicare eligible heart health checks are bulk billed for valid Medicare card holders, so there is no out of pocket cost.
From Age 45, Or 30
Available from 45, and from 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, once every 12 months.
One Appointment
The assessment itself takes around 20 minutes. Bloods are collected in the same building.
A Number, Not A Guess
You get a calculated five year risk score and a plan matched to it, not a vague reassurance.
Who Is Eligible
for a Medicare heart health check
Medicare funds the heart health check under item numbers 699 and 177. The criteria are straightforward, and reception can confirm your eligibility when you book.
- Aged 45 and over, or 30 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
- Not already diagnosed with heart disease. The check is for people who have not had an event
- Claimable once every 12 months, so it works as an annual review
- A valid Medicare card, which is what makes it bulk billed here
- No referral needed, and it can be booked as its own appointment
If you already have a diagnosed heart condition, this is not the right appointment. Ongoing care sits under a chronic disease management plan instead, which unlocks subsidised allied health visits.
What Happens
during your heart health check
Six measurements, then the arithmetic. Your GP feeds the results into a validated Australian cardiovascular risk calculator, which returns your chance of a heart attack or stroke over the next five years.
Blood Pressure
Measured properly, seated and rested, and repeated if the first reading is high. High blood pressure has no symptoms, which is exactly why it gets missed.
Cholesterol And Lipids
A fasting blood test for total, LDL and HDL cholesterol plus triglycerides. Collected downstairs in the same building, so there is no second trip.
Blood Sugar
Screening for diabetes and pre-diabetes, because both raise cardiovascular risk sharply and often sit undetected for years.
Smoking And Alcohol
Current and past smoking is one of the strongest single inputs into your risk score. We also talk through alcohol intake.
Weight, Waist And BMI
Waist measurement matters as much as the number on the scales, because abdominal fat behaves differently from fat elsewhere.
Family And Medical History
Heart disease or stroke in a parent or sibling before 60, along with your own history of kidney disease or high blood pressure.
Heart Tests
we can arrange from the clinic
A risk score answers one question. If your GP wants to look at the heart itself, whether because of chest pain, palpitations, breathlessness or a murmur, the next tests start here rather than with a specialist waiting list.
Most people never need any of this. It is there for when the check turns up something worth chasing.
Available Through Us
- ECG on site, recording the electrical activity of the heart
- 24 hour Holter monitoring, worn at home during normal activity
- Pathology collected in the same building
- Echocardiogram arranged by referral when the structure of the heart needs imaging
- Cardiology referral with your results already in hand
Understanding
your risk score
Your result comes back as a percentage, the chance of a heart attack or stroke within five years. It sorts into three bands, and the band decides what happens next.
Low Risk
Under 10 percent over five years. The plan is to keep it there with lifestyle, and to repeat the check in 12 months rather than assume nothing changes.
Moderate Risk
Between 10 and 15 percent. This is the band where changes to diet, activity, weight and smoking move the number most, and where medication may be discussed.
High Risk
Above 15 percent. Treatment usually starts promptly, typically blood pressure and cholesterol medication alongside lifestyle changes, with closer follow up.
A high score is not a diagnosis and it is not fixed. Most of the inputs can be moved, and the score is recalculated at your next check so you can see whether what you changed actually worked.
How To Prepare
for your appointment
- Ask reception whether to fast, as the lipid blood test usually needs it
- Bring a list of your current medications and doses
- Know roughly when a parent or sibling had heart trouble, if they did
- Avoid caffeine and heavy exercise right before your blood pressure reading
- Wear a top with sleeves that roll up easily
- Bring your Medicare card
What Happens
after the check
The score is the start, not the end. Depending on where you land, your GP may set up a follow up to review bloods, start or adjust medication, or put a longer term plan in place.
- A chronic disease management plan if you have an ongoing condition
- Subsidised dietitian and exercise physiologist visits under that plan
- Support to stop smoking, which shifts the score more than anything else
- Blood pressure or cholesterol medication where the risk warrants it
- A repeat check in 12 months to see whether the number moved
Heart Health Check
questions, answered
What patients ask most often before booking a heart check at our Biggera Waters clinic.
What is a heart health check?
A 20 minute GP appointment that calculates your risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years. It combines blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, smoking, weight and family history into a single score, then matches a plan to that score.
Is a heart health check free?
At Harbour Town Doctors it is bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card who meet the eligibility criteria, so there is no out of pocket cost. Medicare funds it under item numbers 699 and 177.
Who is eligible for a Medicare heart health check?
Patients aged 45 and over, or 30 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, who have not already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. If you already have a heart condition, ongoing care runs through a chronic disease management plan instead.
How often can I have one?
Once every 12 months. Annual repetition is the point, because it shows whether the changes you made actually moved your risk score.
Do I need to fast beforehand?
Usually yes, because the cholesterol and lipid blood test is most accurate fasting. Confirm with reception when you book, and bring water rather than coffee.
At what age should I get my heart checked?
Medicare sets the threshold at 45, and 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. If a parent or sibling had heart disease or a stroke before 60, or you have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, raise it with your GP earlier than that.
Can a GP check my heart, or do I need a cardiologist?
A GP does the heart health check. It is designed as primary care, and no referral is needed. A cardiologist comes in later, if a test result or a symptom calls for it, and your GP refers you with the findings already documented.
What tests are involved?
Blood pressure, a fasting lipid and blood sugar test, weight and waist measurement, and a history. An ECG or 24 hour Holter monitor is added only if your GP finds a reason, such as palpitations or an irregular pulse.
Do I need an appointment?
Booking is strongly preferred so the full 20 minutes is set aside and your bloods can be organised. Call 07 5222 7117 or book online.
Related Reading
and services
Heart health overlaps with most of what we do. These are the pages worth reading next.
Book A Bulk Billed Heart Health Check
Twenty minutes, once a year, for a number that actually tells you something. Call 07 5222 7117 or book online. Free parking at Harbour Town Premium Outlets.