How king of spin Shane Warne is saving thousands of Aussies in his ultimate legacy
The spin king died suddenly of a heart attack while holidaying in Thailand in March 2022.
His death shocked the nation and untold millions of cricket lovers across the globe.
But it also spurred the launch of the Shane Warne Legacy, which over the summer rolled out a national heart health screening initiative.
The foundation hopes that Warne's untimely death can be a catalyst for change and help Australians identify the warning signs.
As part of the initiative, over 76,000 Australians were screened at pharmacies across the country and the Boxing Day Test.
The results of the Monash University-led study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, have revealed that seven out of 10 Australians screened had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
'They identified thousands of Australians at risk, many of whom hadn't had a blood pressure check in the past year,' Dr Sean Tan said.
'Meeting people where they are, whether that's at their local pharmacy or the MCG, can make all the difference to health outcomes.'
The checks found that just shy of 69 per cent of people had a risk factor for heart disease such as elevated blood pressure, being overweight or obese, or smoking.
It also found half of the people with high blood pressure hadn't had a check in the last year.
Helen Nolan, Warne's long-time personal assistant and now the CEO of the Shane Warne Legacy, said she hoped the leg spin great's death could be lead to change.
'Shane was loved by Australians from all walks of life and we knew we had a platform to do something meaningful,' Ms Nolan said.
'These results are bittersweet. We're proud to have helped thousands take their heart health seriously but we know there's still work to do. Shane would have wanted this to make a massive difference.'
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