Hospital visits for heart attacks drop by a third

HOSPITAL admissions for some heart attacks dropped by more than a third in Britain during the pandemic, as experts warned of the “collateral damage” caused by the Covid-19 response and the Government’s “Protect the NHS” messaging.

The number of people seeking help for small heart attacks fell by 35 per cent in the UK, and for major heart attacks by 17 per cent. Admissions also declined by 28 per cent for heart failure, according to a new study.

“We know that the decline in admissions was not due to a reduction in the amount of heart disease,” said Dr Ramesh Nadarajah of Leeds University.

“In fact during the first wave [of the pandemic] almost half of deaths from heart disease occurred out of the hospital setting, with the greatest excess in deaths related to heart disease in people’s homes and in care homes.

“Across the UK, cardiovascular services were stretched and fewer people attended hospital or received the usual diagnosis or treatment due to the measures taken during the pandemic.

“The overall high incidence of Covid19 and public messaging will have contributed to a fear of contagion and a wish not to burden health services.”

Dr Nadarajah added: “The collateral damage of missed diagnoses and treatments will continue to accrue unless mitigation strategies are implemented.”

In a wide-ranging review, the team analysed data from 189 separate research papers looking at Covid’s impact on cardiovascular services from 48 countries, covering a two-year period from December 2019, when cases first emerged in China.

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, found there was a 34 per cent drop in heart operations globally.

In cases where people did get medical help there was, on average, more than an hour’s delay in reaching hospital or having contact with paramedics, the researchers found.

And compared to the pre-pandemic period, the number of pacemakers fitted slumped by around half.

The study found that, worldwide, the number of people dying from any cause among patients in hospital after having had a major heart attack or heart failure was up by 17 per cent.

Dr Nadarajah said he was “shocked” by the detrimental effects on treatment, admissions and deaths.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) warned that more than 300,000 people are currently waiting for treatment in England.