Excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease: an analysis
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic there have been nearly 100,000 excess deaths in England involving cardiovascular disease. Our analysis looks at this troubling situation in more detail.
We’ve been working hard to monitor and highlight the huge impact the pandemic has had on people at risk of or living with heart and circulatory diseases.
Our Tipping Point report released in November 2022, argued that heart care is in crisis. It states that millions of people were not able to get the routine care they needed and that ambulances took too long to reach heart attack patients.
We now have new analysis of publicly available data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). It shows a persistently high number of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease (CVD) in England since the beginning of the pandemic.
Download the full analysis or read on for our key findings and the actions we want the Government to take.
Our key findings
- As of June 2023, there have been nearly 100,000 excess deaths in England involving CVD since the beginning of the pandemic.
- On average, there have been over 500 additional deaths a week involving CVD since the pandemic began.
- While deaths from Covid-19 have fallen year-on-year since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of deaths involving CVD have remained high above expected levels.
- Excess deaths involving CVD outnumber those involving all other individual disease areas since the beginning of the pandemic in England.
No doubt, the reasons for continuingly high numbers of excess deaths related to CVD in England are complicated. However, along with deaths caused by Covid-19 among people with heart and circulatory diseases, we think the following factors have played a role:
- The longer-term impact of Covid-19 infection on the heart and circulatory system.
- Extreme and continued disruption to GP and heart care services.
What needs to be done
We need more research to get a clear understanding of the causes of these excess deaths. But without coordinated, cross-government action, this problem will likely continue.
We know that we can make a positive impact on the lives of millions living with heart and circulatory diseases. For this, we need the UK Government to take bold, co-ordinated action on three fronts:
Protection
Better prevent heart disease and stroke by addressing drivers like obesity and smoking.
Focus
Prioritise NHS heart care to minimise the time it takes to get help.
Breakthroughs
Supercharge research to unlock future treatments and cures.