That's according to new data released by the not-for-profit Heart Foundation, which has found people living in the Riverina are admitted to hospital for heart attacks at a rate almost double the NSW average.

The Heart Foundation says its figures, compiled between 2012 and 2018 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, show that 21.5 out of every 10,000 people in the Riverina were hospitalised for heart attacks while the state average was 14.5 out of 10,000 people.

Wagga cardiologist Gerard Carroll said there were multiple factors that contributed to the higher incidence of heart disease in the bush, which was about more than just managing risks such as obesity and smoking.

"Patients in rural, regional and remote Australia only go to the doctor when they're sick. They have a higher threshold for seeking medical attention," he said.

Professor Carroll said another factor was the "tyranny of distance" when seeking medical treatment outside of metro areas, where people also have to contend with a lower ratio of general practitioners to patients and resulting longer wait times for appointments.

But Professor Carroll, who has been a cardiologist in Wagga for 30 years, said patients had become much more proactive about seeking treatment during that period.

The Heart Foundation has said the Riverina also has the highest rate of hospitalisation for coronary heart disease in NSW, but is only slightly above the state average for deaths from coronary heart disease.

Professor Carroll said the higher rates of hospitalisation for coronary heart disease and heart attacks in the Riverina could also be attributed to more people accessing treatment.

"I think it should be recognised that there has been a major drive ... to try to reduce the inequities of access," he said.

"The previous recognition of the difference in prevalence of heart disease in the bush and heart disease in the city has spurred on governments, health departments, local health districts and the medical profession to find ways to correct it and we're making good inroads."

But Heart Foundation NSW/ACT heart health manager Anna Flynn said the disparity between heart health in regional and metro areas was still "unacceptable".

"If you live in the state's remote south, north or west, or in a disadvantaged part of Sydney, you have a much higher chance of heart disease, which remains the single leading cause of death in NSW," she said.