Analysis by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) shows that by 2022, 80 people in every 100,000 people in the UK will die under the age of 75 from heart and circulatory disease.
This is the highest level since 2011, when 83 premature deaths per 100,000 people occurred, marking the third consecutive year of rising mortality rates that coincided with the pandemic.
Experts said that after a “significant slowdown” in improvement between 2012 and 2019, 2020 was “the first time in almost 60 years that we have seen a clear reversal in trends”.
In 2022, more than 39,000 people under the age of 75 will die from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and coronary heart disease. This equates to 107 deaths every day, or almost 5 deaths per hour.
Highest number since 2008
This is the highest number of premature deaths from heart disease since 2008, when around 40,000 people died, and has increased each year from a low of 33,700 in 2014. Adjusting for changes in population size and age, this would be 73 deaths per 100,000 people. 2019 had the lowest rate.
Dr Sonya Babu Narayan, deputy medical director and consultant cardiologist at the BHF, said the UK was “in the midst of the worst cardiac health crisis in living memory”.
“Every part of the system that delivers cardiac care is damaged, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery to critical research that can provide faster and better treatments,” she said.
“This is happening at a time when more people are getting sick and needing the NHS more than ever. Hard-won progress in reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease has been lost. I think it's a tragedy.”
Mortality rates fell by 11% between 2012 and 2019, which was lower than the 33% drop in the previous seven years.
Up 13% since pandemic
It has risen almost 13% since the pandemic, undoing a decade of progress.
Pressure on the NHS and its services and the impact of the pandemic were to blame, the charity said, but added that the government had failed to address more than a decade of “warning signs”.
The BHF aims to tackle “stubbornly high rates of obesity”, with millions of people living with undiagnosed conditions that put them at risk of high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes. said there was a lack of action. A third of adults in the UK are thought to be overweight or obese.
“This poses huge challenges for the future,” the charity said.
BHF chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths said 50 years of progress was followed by a “lost decade of progress during which too many people lost loved ones”.
“We can stop this heartbreak, but only if politicians come together to address the preventable causes of heart disease. “Reduce long waiting lists. And help accelerate scientific progress to unlock innovative new treatments and cures,” she said.
“Non-smoking generation”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “This Government is already making significant progress in reducing cardiovascular disease and its causes, including increasing access to testing and successfully encouraging reduced salt and sugar intake. “We have taken steps, but we know there is more work to do.”
“While our Key Disease Strategy helps prevent and manage diseases, including cardiovascular disease, our plan to create a smoke-free generation represents the most important public health intervention of this generation. Masu.
“Furthermore, we are investing around £17 million in innovative new digital NHS health checks, which are expected to deliver a further 1 million health checks in the first four years.”
