There have been nearly 100,000 more deaths involving heart conditions and stroke than usual in England since the pandemic began, a leading heart charity has said, warning of an “urgent cardiovascular disease crisis”.
Analysis by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found that, on average, there have been more than 500 additional deaths a week involving cardiovascular disease since before the pandemic.
There are likely many contributing factors, it said, including extreme and widespread pressure on NHS services and the impact of Covid-19 itself, which it is well recognised can affect the heart and cardiovascular system.
There have been more excess deaths involving cardiovascular conditions than any other disease groups – a total of 96,540 since February 2020 – the BHF has concluded from its analysis of data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID).
In the first year of the pandemic, Covid-19 infection drove high numbers of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.
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However, while deaths from Covid-19 have since fallen year-on-year, the number of deaths involving cardiovascular disease have remained high above expected levels, it argued.
“We believe that there are now other major factors likely driving the continued increase in excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease, including the severe, ongoing disruption to NHS heart care, and Covid-19 increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke,” the charity said.
“We’re calling on the UK government to take charge of the increasingly urgent cardiovascular disease crisis,” it added.
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.
“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.
“There is no time to waste – government must take control of this crisis to give heart patients and their loved ones hope of a better and healthier future. It can do this by prioritising NHS heart care, better preventing heart disease and stroke, and powering science to unlock future treatments and cures,” Griffiths added.
She also pointed to the number of people waiting for time-sensitive cardiac care being at a record high of nearly 390,000 at the end of April in England.
At the same time, there has been significant disruption to the detection and management of conditions that put people at much greater risk of a heart attack or stroke, such as high blood pressure (hypertension).
Griffiths highlighted NHS England figures that show two million fewer people were recorded as having controlled hypertension in 2021, compared with the previous year.
On top of this, there are also concerns of a potential rise in heart problems linked to Covid-19.
A study from January this year, for example, found that people with and without pre-existing heart conditions who caught Covid-19 before the vaccine roll-out were 40 per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, and five times more likely to die in the 18 months after infection.
Separately, people living near airports may be slightly more at risk from symptoms linked to heart problems, research has suggested.
A study by academics at Imperial College London published in the journal Environment International has concluded there was a “small increase of risk” of being admitted to hospital for people who had experienced louder noise during the previous night.
The team of researchers looked at hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases among residents whose homes are under Heathrow Airport’s flight paths
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It found that aircraft noise can disrupt sleep and raise blood pressure as well as stress hormone levels, both of which are factors linked to heart problems, with men aged over 65 particularly affected.
The researchers concluded: “Further research into these potential respite mechanisms and behavioural interventions, including runway rotation and noise insulation initiatives, is needed to understand how best to translate the findings from this study into action.”
