Heart disease, stroke deaths rose during COVID, study says. Why trend could last years
There was a “notable” spike in deaths related to heart disease and strokes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study has found.
The findings suggest a “disturbing trend” that could be an “ongoing problem” in the coming years, according to study author and American Heart Association President Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones.
“We’re going to see more cardiovascular disease deaths than we’ve seen in decades,” Lloyd-Jones said in a video commenting on the research published in JAMA Network Open on March 23.
Here’s what to know:
- From 2019 to 2020, overall heart disease deaths rose 5.8% and stroke deaths rose 6.8%, the study found. From 2011 to 2019, heart disease deaths rose 10.4% and stroke deaths rose 16.3%.
- There was a higher, “several-fold” increase in risk-associated deaths between 2019 and 2020 compared to age-associated deaths due to the two conditions. Just before, through 2011 to 2019, risk-associated deaths were on a downward trend.
- The risk-associated increases were 4.1% for heart disease and 5.2% for stroke compared to age-associated increases of 1.6% and 1.7%.
The study suggests that the pandemic created factors that “likely contributed” to the rising heart disease and stroke deaths, researchers wrote.
Lloyd-Jones said this is “precisely because of the disruption to medical care that occurred.”
This includes “periods of overcrowding of hospitals with patients who had COVID-19, resulting in fewer hospitalizations for acute cardiovascular problems, fewer visits for medical care, poorer medication adherence, and increased barriers to healthy lifestyle behaviors,” the study said.
Additionally, the increases in death rates due to these conditions were disproportionate among racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. The study found they were highest in Blacks, followed by Hispanics, Asians or Pacific Islanders and whites.
The research “reaffirms” how many people were “delaying or avoiding care for chronic conditions” such as diabetes and obesity during the beginning of the pandemic, according to Lloyd-Jones.
Just like how delaying treatment for chronic conditions increases the risk for COVID-19, it also heightens the risk of heart disease and stroke, he added.
The study examined death rate and population data from 2011 to 2020 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database.
One study limitation included “potential inaccuracy in coding cause of death,” it said.
Lloyd-Jones is calling for people to “get back in touch with their doctor” so they can better understand what’s going on with their health — including blood pressure and cholesterol. He also advises eating healthy and staying active.
“This is really a red flag warning that we must do better, we must get our patients back into care in the health system and also get people focusing again on those very important things that will improve their heart disease and stroke risk.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Heart disease, stroke deaths rose during COVID, study says. Why trend could last years."
.jpg)