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"It's important that we don't start moving backwards."

The Heart Foundation is concerned heart attacks amongst Kiwi men might back on the rise after decades of steady decline.

The charity's Medical Director Gerry Devlin warned that the most recent provisional figures from the Ministry of Health showed a marginal rise in deaths, with 197 more fatalities in 2014 than the previous year.

Released last month, the 2016 NZ Health Survey showed "there has been an increase in the number of people living with coronary heart disease – up from 169,000 in 2015 to 172,000 in the latest survey".

Stacy Squires/FAIRFAX NZ

Television personality Jason Gunn's recent heart attack acts as a warning to middle-aged men.

With concerns that the condition could be creeping back up Devlin warned, "it's important that we don't start moving backwards from the dramatic overall reduction in deaths achieved over the past 40 years." 

The news is a timely alarm bell, with 48-year-old broadcaster Jason Gunn and All Blacks doctor John Mayhew being the most recent victims.    

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However, despite the recent statistics, heart disease has been consistently and steadily waning. Experts also believe that awareness in recent years has been helping Kiwis win the battle against cardiovascular disease. 

Dr Gerard T Wilkins, Associate Professor of Medicine at Otago School of Medicine and Consultant Cardiologist at Dunedin Hospital, says there's "been a dramatic decrease in heart attacks over the past 40-50 years in relation to understanding the lifestyle issues that cause heart attacks," as we all now understand that the main causes of heart disease are smoking, lack of exercise, obesity and type-2 diabetes; all of which are preventable.

Of course, there are other factors at play, such as hereditary and environment. Dr Wilkins suggests that "certain families carry risks that are genetic". 

"Socioeconomic class also predicts susceptibility and survival," he says.

"Unfortunately, it's been well documented that health behaviours are different for those living in poverty. 

"In NZ, and indeed the west, people in the lower socio-economic strata tend to have higher rates of smoking and poor diet which in turn leads obesity and often diabetes". 

"The risk in males is also higher, sooner," Dr Gerard explains. 

"Women carry the same risks but it turns up much later. Heart attacks in men from mid-40s and 50s are not uncommon. For women, it's more common in their 60s and 70s."

Heart Foundation GP Champion Fraser Hamilton highlights a lack of red flags, saying "some people get no warning signs or symptoms" and men over 45 (35 for Maori, Pacific Islander and Indian), should avoid the outdated stereotype of the macho man who refuses to see the doctor and get checked out.

So the pressing message is that while the overall trend paints a picture of progress, Kiwis still need to exercise caution - quite literally.  

The advice from Fraser is pretty straight forward. "Men should watch their diet, exercise more, stop smoking and get a heart check."  

But simply being healthy isn't enough.

Guys should "visit their health practitioner, talk about their risk factors, get a blood pressure check, and perhaps a cholesterol test to see what their risk of having a heart attack is".  

Heart disease is the nation's biggest killer, responsible for over 6000 deaths per year. Not only that, current figures from the Heart Foundation show that 172,000 Kiwis are living with the condition.

 - Stuff