Thousands of excess deaths from cardiovascular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic

A major new study identified 2085 over-deaths in England and Wales due to heart disease and stroke during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, 17 people died every day in four months and could probably have been prevented.

Excessive mortality is usually more than expected, and this number is associated with the period from March 2, 2020 to June 30, 2020.Scientists believe that over-death was caused by people who did not seek an emergency hospital treatment of heart Other acute cardiovascular diseases that require seizures or urgent medical treatment because they are afraid to become infected with COVID-19 or have not been referred for treatment.

At the same time, the proportion of people who died in House Or at a care home from acute cardiovascular disease.Chris Gale, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Leeds, said, “If people went to the hospital as soon as they started experiencing a heart attack or stroke, it would have been possible to prevent many deaths. The sad irony is that, according to a previous study we conducted, the national heart attack service continued to function perfectly and provide high quality care during peak pandemics. ” Findings based on analysis of the information contained Death certificateWas published in the journal heart..

The study was conducted by a team of data scientists and clinicians led by scholars at the University of Leeds. Other collaborators were from Keele University, NHS Digital, National Bureau of Statistics, Barts Health NHS Trust, and University College London. This is the third major study by scholars investigating how the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic affected emergency cardiovascular services.

Dr. Jianhua Wu, an associate professor of Leeds School of Medicine, led the latest research. He states: “This is the first study to show in detail and comprehensively what is happening to people with acute cardiovascular disease across England and Wales.” It reveals a large number of over-deaths. To The findings help the government and the NHS create a message that ensures that highly ill people seek help. “

Measurement of excess mortality

The analysis looked at the information collected when the death certificate was issued. It details the cause of death and where the person died. To provide baseline data, this study examined cardiovascular death from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2020.

There were 28,969 cardiovascular deaths during the four months from March 2, 2020 to June 30, 2020, when the first COVID-19 deaths in the UK were registered. This was compared to the average number of deaths seen in each period of the last 6 years. It was 8% higher, revealing an excess of 2085 deaths. Excessive cardiovascular death began to appear in late March 2020 and peaked in early April. This was a time when the government was promoting the message “Stay-at-home order, NHS protection, lifesaving”. As a result, they may not have been ready to go to the hospital when they got sick because they were worried about getting infected with COVID-19 or overwhelming the NHS.

Previous research by researchers, Lancet And European Heart Journal — Quality of Care and Clinical OutcomesRevealed that the number of people arriving at the hospital for a heart attack has dropped sharply, with some units confirming just over half the expected number of cases.

Changes in where people were dead

This latest analysis reveals changes in where people were dead. Compared to baseline data, hospital deaths were proportionally lower, 53.4% ​​vs. 63%. In proportion, there were 30.9% vs. 23.5% deaths at home and 15.7% vs. 13.5% deaths at long-term care facilities. Excessive mortality was disproportionate at home, up 35% from expectations and up 32% in long-term care facilities. In the paper, scientists said: “This’death replacement’probably means that the public did not seek help during the pandemic or was not referred to the hospital …”

cause of death

Stroke and heart failure were the most common causes of death for people in long-term care and hospice. For those who died at home, it was a heart attack or heart failure. Pulmonary embolism and cardiogenic shock, in which the heart does not supply enough blood to the body, were the most frequent causes of death in people who died in hospitals.

Professor Gail said: “Our study found that people who died at home were most likely to have a heart attack, which many people have, despite being an acute cardiovascular disease. It further supports the speculation that he was away from the hospital. Illness. Untreated reality heart attack That is to cause complications — and it will lead to either death, Heart failure or life-threatening heart rhythm. The message issued at the time of the blockade was important. The NHS needed to protect against a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. However, some people may have received a message indicating that the NHS was unable to deal with them in the event of a medical emergency, or that the hospital was the place where they caught the infection. Hmm. The NHS is implementing a process to help people clearly understand that hospitals are open and to minimize the risk of patients becoming infected with COVID-19 in preparation for the future wave of COVID-19. You need to make sure that. ”