As many as 45,000 heart procedures may have been missed or delayed this year in England because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis.
Researchers at Keele University warned of a significant effect on mortality and morbidity – and called for “major restructuring” of cardiac services to catch up.
The findings, by the university’s cardiovascular research group, apply to the NHS between March and May and have been published in the European Heart Journal and involved analysis of 374,000 procedures
The study also found that two procedures, cardiac catheterisation and cardiac device implantation – had slightly increased mortality rates. This potentially reflected the choice of the most severely ill patients and the impact of the virus, the researchers say.
Researcher Professor Mamas Mamas said: “This reduction in cardiac procedures will have significant implications for longer term patient quality of life, cardiac events, and mortality, as many of these procedures are time-sensitive.
“Our policy makers need to think how to restructure healthcare delivery to meet the challenges of the pandemic and minimise the impact on our ability to deliver cardiac care nationally.”
Impact of COVID-19 on cardiac procedure activity in England and associated 30-day mortality. European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes 20 October 2020
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