Introducing CAD Frontiers to rural and regional Australia: A quest for zero heart attacks

Did you know? Every nine minutes, an Australian suffers a heart attack. According to the Heart Foundation, Mildura has a notably high rate of coronary heart disease, with a mortality rate of 72 per 100,000 people, higher than the national rate of 63.8 per 100,000. Mildura also lacks a catheterisation (cath) lab for specialised cardiac procedures, making it an ideal location for this important conversation.

Many first-time heart attack patients have no common risk factors and develop 'silent' CAD without symptoms. This was the case for Katrina Umback's husband, Scott, who tragically died at 42 in 2019.

“More often than not, people in our community only discover they have some type of heart disease like CAD after they have presented to our emergency department. This was the case for my husband and it cost him his life. He died waiting for a plane to come from Melbourne to take him to a cath lab, some 600kms from our hometown of Mildura. It’s crazy to think this is the healthcare system in a country like Australia in 2025. Particularly for a disease that is preventable and treatable. This is where CAD Frontiers work is driving change, focusing on early identification and aggressive treatment of heart disease." - Katrina Umback, Mildura heart health advocate

Join us in Mildura for a crucial discussion on preventing heart disease-related deaths. CAD Frontiers – a collaboration between La Trobe University, the University of Sydney, the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, and Monash University – is dedicated to addressing this issue and they’re coming to Mildura.

At this event, some of the country’s leading cardiologists and researchers along with individuals with lived experience of coronary artery disease (CAD), will share their vision of how CAD Frontiers' work will transform heart disease prevention for regional Australians.

Our panellists include:

• Professor Gemma Figtree, CAD Frontiers leadership team and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney 
• Katrina Umback, 2025 Mildura Rural City Council Citizen of the Year and community heart health advocate
• Professor Grant Drummond, Co-Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research (CCBDR), La Trobe University

This event is free, and nibbles and drinks will be provided.

“CAD Frontiers is a gamechanger for rural and regional Australians, especially those in a city like Mildura, with no cath lab or accessible heart disease screening programs.” - Katrina Umback, Mildura heart health advocate.

Find out more about CAD Frontiers: https://cadfrontiers.com.au/