Heart problems ‘killed hundreds’ due to pandemic

HUNDREDS of under-65s died from medical problems such as strokes and cardiac arrests as a consequence of the pandemic, a leading charity has said.

More than 800 “excess” deaths from heart and circulatory problems among those aged under-65 have happened since the start of March, according to the British Heart Foundation.

The charity looked at official mortality data for England and Wales to analyse the number of deaths among heart patients aged 65 and under.

During the first peak of the pandemic there were almost 2,800 deaths in under-65s where the underlying causes were heart and circulatory diseases, it said – around 420 more than expected for that period of the year.

Between May and July, almost 3,100 deaths were registered in this group – around 350 more than expected.

There were no excess deaths seen in this group between January and March, the BHF added. It urged people to seek medical help if they had any troubling symptoms and stressed the importance of maintaining cardiac services during a second peak of the pandemic.

“There are tragic consequences of the pandemic for patients with heart and circulatory diseases … delays in care are likely contributing to more deaths than we would expect to see otherwise,” said Dr Sonya Babu-narayan, associate medical director for the BHF.

In late March, there was a significant fall in people seeking help for suspected heart attacks, with numbers attending A&E falling by 50 per cent, the BHF said. Figures have since improved, but remain below previous levels.

Prof Nick Linker, NHS national clinical director for heart disease, said: “The number of people seeking emergency help for heart problems quickly recovered during the first wave.

“The NHS has continued to offer treatment for urgent and routine heart problems … nobody should delay coming forward to get the advice and support they need.”