Almost 100,000 more people have died with cardiovascular disease in England than expected in the three years since the pandemic began, a new analysis from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) shows.
The data up to this month shows an average 500 additional deaths a week involving cardiovascular disease since the start of the pandemic.
A range of factors are likely to contribute to the figures, which came from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), including Covid-19 itself, extreme pressure on the NHS and disrupted healthcare as well as changing patient behaviour and worsening population health, the charity said.
It noted that the number of patients waiting for time-sensitive cardiac care was at a record high of nearly 390,000 at the end of April in England, while average ambulance response times for heart attacks and strokes have consistently been above 30 minutes since the beginning of 2022.
The analysis found at 96,540 excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease between March 2020 and May this year – more than any other disease group.
Rates also changed over time with Covid-19 infection driving high numbers of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease in the first year where more than 50% of the higher than expected deaths occurred.
Excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease then dropped significantly in the second year of the pandemic before increasing again in year three by 13,000.
In the third year of the pandemic, the number of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease outnumbered the number of deaths where cardiovascular disease was mentioned but where Covid-19 was the underlying cause by around 19,400 deaths, the BHF said.
Urgent cardiovascular disease crisis
The charity warned the UK Government must take charge of the increasingly urgent cardiovascular disease crisis.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, BHF chief executive, said: ‘It is deeply troubling that so many more people with cardiovascular disease have lost their lives over the last three years. My heart goes out to every family who has endured the pain of losing a loved one, all too often in distressing circumstances.
‘For years now, it has been clear that we are firmly in the grip of a heart and stroke care emergency. If little changes, we could continue to see a sustained rise in death rates from cardiovascular conditions that undoes decades of scientific progress to reduce the number of people who die of a heart attack or stroke.’
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF and consultant cardiologist, said Covid-19 no longer fully explains the significant numbers of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease.
‘Other major factors are likely contributing, including the extreme and unrelenting pressure on the NHS over the last few years.
This story was originally published by our sister publication Pulse.
