Sunday 6 November 2022

Extreme heart care disruption linked to 30,000 excess deaths involving heart disease

Source:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2022/november/extreme-heart-care-disruption-linked-to-excess-deaths-involving-heart-disease


They are thinking we are all idiots...

Severe ambulance delays, inaccessible care and ever-growing waiting lists are contributing to heart patients dying needlessly, our new analysis warns.  

Emergency department
Since the pandemic began, there have been just over 30,000 excess deaths involving heart disease - on average over 230 additional deaths a week above expected heart disease death rates. 

Heart disease is among the most prominent diseases involved in the high numbers of excess deaths since the start of the pandemic, the analysis shows. 

We say that significant and widespread disruption to heart care services is driving the surge in excess deaths involving heart disease in England. 

Latest figures show that average ambulance response times for suspected heart attacks have risen to 48 minutes in England against a target of 18 minutes, while the vast backlog of time-sensitive cardiac care has grown by almost 50 per cent since the pandemic began to nearly 350,000 people.  

Unacceptably long waits

Unacceptably long waits for diagnosis and treatment of conditions like coronary heart disease and abnormal heart rhythms increase the risk of someone developing permanent heart damage, becoming disabled from heart failure, and even dying while waiting for vital care.  

There are also millions of “missing” heart patients, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, who have struggled to access care for conditions that put people at much greater risk of a future heart attack or stroke, like high blood pressure.

Modelling from NHS England suggests that the decline in blood pressure management since the pandemic began could lead to an extra 11,190 heart attacks and 16,702 additional strokes over a three-year period. 

We have urged the new Government to tackle the heart care crisis head-on with a heart strategy that can deliver for current and future heart patients. 


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