Government action needed to avoid 12,000 extra heart attacks and strokes

The pandemic could cause at least 12,000 extra heart attack and strokes in England over the next five years without bold Government intervention, according to a think tank’s new analysis. 

The findings give further weight to our call for the Government to provide a clear plan and enough investment to address the significant backlog of heart care. 

Around 470,000 fewer new prescriptions of preventative heart and circulatory disease medications like statins were issued in England during the pandemic, according to the research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and healthcare consultancy Carnall Farrar (CF).  

They stress that such a drop could lead to significantly more people developing heart and circulatory conditions over the next few years. 

Widespread disruption

The stark figures have been published today in a briefing: Without Skipping a Beat. The briefing also shows: 

- An estimated 23,000 missed diagnoses of heart failure in England during the pandemic;

- Referrals to cardiovascular and diabetes specialists were a quarter below 2019 levels in December 2020 in England;

- A 44 per cent drop in heart ultrasound scans known as echocardiograms between March and October in England last year compared to the same period the previous year. 

Today, we warn that the pandemic’s widespread disruption to potentially life saving heart treatment and care is putting lives at risk.  

Already, there have been over 5,000 excess deaths from heart diseases and stroke in England since the pandemic began.

The vast backlog of care

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, our Associate Medical Director and Consultant Cardiologist, said: “People with heart and circulatory diseases are facing devastating disruption to their care on a scale never seen before, and at every stage of their treatment.  
 
“The steep decline in heart investigations and so many missed diagnoses will have an impact that will be felt for years to come. What’s more, the pandemic’s true toll on cardiovascular care is still unknown. We are already seeing the consequences, with an average of 100 extra heart and stroke deaths in England a week and increasingly stark health inequalities.  
 
“The pressure from Covid-19 may be lessening, but the backlog of cardiovascular care is ever increasing and must be urgently addressed. This is a significant but surmountable challenge that will require a clear plan and enough investment, now and in the long term.” 
 
Dr Parth Patel, IPPR Research Fellow and lead author of the paper, said: “Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are diagnosed with heart disease. The good news is that we have effective medications that can really slow down the deterioration of such disease and prevent future heart attacks and strokes. 

"The bad news is the pandemic means almost half a million chances to prevent have been missed. This is really alarming. It pits us in a race against time to avoid thousands of deaths in the coming years that would be entirely attributable to the pandemic’s disruptions to normal healthcare services. 

“Crucially, these deaths are not inevitable - but avoiding them relies on bold policy now. It is time for the government to match its ‘build back better’ rhetoric with urgent action.” 

READ ABOUT THE PANDEMIC’S TOLL ON HEART PATIENTS