Regional and remote Australians are 90 per cent more likely to die from heart disease than those living in the major cities, a new report has found.
Research from the Mary MacKillop Institute has broken down into federal electorates into where Australians are hospitalised with heart diseases.
The rural NSW communities of Lyne, Gilmore and Cowper ranked in the top 10.
The list also includes Hinkler in Brisbane surrounds and Flinders southeast of Melbourne.
The report also finds indigenous people living in Central Australia develop heart failure on average 20 years younger than the general population.
It's estimated there are 800,000 cases of people 35 years and older being admitted to hospital with coronary artery disease every year, 330,000 for atrial fibrillation and 170,000 for heart failure.
Lead author Dr Yih-Kai Chan puts the greater risk of heart disease and poorer disease outcomes in areas outside the city down to often limited health care resources.
"In a geographically sparse continent, these gaps pose significant challenges for matching health services to individual needs to improve persistently poor health outcomes associated with chronic heart disease," she said.
That's in addition to the ageing of the population and an evolving sedentary lifestyle.
"(It) means chronic heart disease will continue to be one of the leading causes of death, disability and very poor quality of life among adult Australians in the foreseeable future," she said.
The institute recommends the establishment of an expert advisory group to make recommendations to government.
It also suggests the implementation of a national nurse practitioner program for the prevention and management of heart disease for regional and indigenous Australians.
