A systematic review of the effectiveness of primary health education or intervention programs in improving rural women's knowledge of heart disease risk factors and changing lifestyle behaviours.

Background Although there have been considerable advances in medical science, cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to impose a financial burden on Australians. Cardiovascular disease remains a major public health problem in Australia and is a leading cause of mortality and disability. One Australian dies every ten minutes from cardiovascular disease and one in three families are directly affected by cardiovascular disease. CVD accounted for 46,134 deaths (35% of all deaths in Australia) in 2005. It is also one of the leading causes of disability, with around 1.4 million Australians (6.9% of the population) estimated to have disability associated with cardiovascular conditions. In the 2004-05 National Health Survey, about 19% of those surveyed reported one or more longterm diseases of the circulatory system, corresponding to 3.7 million Australians. Outside capital cities, the mortality rates for coronary heart disease are higher. The difference between rural and urban areas accounts for approximately 5000 excess deaths per year.