BHF comment
MPs discuss urgent need to prevent further rise in cardiovascular disease deaths
We've warned that the heart care waiting list has doubled in size in less than three years.
Latest figures for December 2023 show that the heart care waiting list stands at 405,960 in England, compared to 203,893 in February 2021.
The new analysis was released as MPs gathered in the House of Commons today for Heart Month to discuss the need for more awareness of the symptoms of cardiovascular conditions like heart attack and stroke.
The debate was led by Conservative MP for Watford, Dean Russell, who had a heart attack in August 2023 aged just 47.
Unrelenting pressure
MPs across the political divide heard how unrelenting pressure on the NHS is one factor contributing to a reversal of hard-won progress to reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular disease.
We say that severe delays to heart tests, procedures and operations are putting people in danger of avoidable disability and even death, despite the best efforts of NHS staff.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, called the new figures “staggering”. She said: “The political focus on this important issue is as urgent as ever. Uncertain and agonising waits for time-sensitive heart care are putting people’s lives on hold and at risk.
"Severe delays to heart care increase someone’s risk of a heart attack, heart failure or even dying too young. This is having a huge emotional and physical toll on heart patients and their loved ones.
“Cardiovascular disease remains one of the country’s biggest killers, despite being largely preventable and treatable. Getting on top of this heart care crisis is critical to saving more lives and preventing avoidable disability from heart and circulatory conditions.”
The debate comes one month after we published figures showing that the rate and number of people dying prematurely from heart and circulatory diseases has risen three years in a row.
In 2022 alone, 39,000 people in England died of cardiovascular disease before their 75th birthday – enough people to fill seats in the House of Commons debating chamber 91 times over.
More analysis is needed to understand exactly what is driving the increase in premature deaths, but the charity says ongoing extreme pressure on the NHS has likely been a factor, alongside the direct impact of Covid-19 illness on the heart.
Severe impact
Despite a recent small decrease in the overall waiting list, the heart care waiting list is 74 per cent larger than it was in February 2020. Around 40 per cent of heart patients on a waiting list in England are waiting longer than the maximum target of 18 weeks.
People on this list may be waiting for heart scans, other heart procedures, including stents that could help prevent a heart attack, and even open heart surgery.
Emergency heart attack care has also been severely impacted. In January, average ambulance waits for heart attacks and strokes in England were 40 minutes - over double the official target of 18 minutes.
The leading heart charity adds that there are millions of people at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes because of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and smoking.
Health inequalities have also widened, with people living in the most deprived areas of England four times as likely to die from cardiovascular disease as those living in the least deprived communities.
We are calling for the prioritisation of cardiovascular disease across three fronts: the better prevention of heart disease and stroke, the prioritisation of NHS heart care, and the supercharging of cardiovascular research to unlock groundbreaking new treatments and cures.
WHY OUR HEARTS NEED MORE