Covid pandemic led to half a MILLION patients missing out on crucial heart medication, figures suggest
- During the pandemic prescriptions for drugs for heart disease fell by 25 per cent
- Experts believe this will lead to tens of thousands of deaths and missed cases
- Many avoided visiting their GP due to the Government’s ‘stay at home’ message
Around half a million patients have missed out on vital heart medication, data suggests.
During the pandemic, prescriptions for drugs including statins and blood thinners, which prevent strokes and heart attacks, fell by 25 per cent. Experts believe this will lead to at least 12,000 more deaths.
Between March and October, doctors issued 1.42million prescriptions for preventative heart drugs, down 470,000 on the same period last year, The Sunday Times reported.
During the pandemic, prescriptions for drugs including statins and blood thinners, which prevent strokes and heart attacks, fell by 25 per cent. Experts believe this will lead to at least 12,000 more deaths.
The figures demonstrate the pandemic’s widespread disruption to potentially life saving treatment for heart patients, including open heart surgery and procedures, such as fitting stents or balloons to open blocked arteries
And 23,000 cases of heart failure and up to 90,000 coronary heart disease cases have been missed, according to research from the Institute for Public Policy Research and consultancy Carnall Farrar.
Dr Parth Patel, lead author, said: ‘The pandemic now means almost half a million chances to prevent have been missed.’
Many have avoided visiting their GP due to the Government’s ‘stay at home’ message.
When those with heart disease wait longer for medication, their condition is likely to worsen, which increases their risk of preventable death.
Latest NHS data shows that over 100,000 fewer heart procedures and operations were performed in England in 2020 compared to the year before.
Around 371,000 heart operations and procedures were performed in 2020 – a 22 per cent drop from 2019 when more than 473,000 were carried out.
The figures demonstrate the pandemic’s widespread disruption to potentially life saving treatment for heart patients, including open heart surgery and procedures, such as fitting stents or balloons to open blocked arteries.
Latest figures show there have been at least 5,700 excess deaths from heart diseases and stroke in England since the pandemic began, fuelled by delays in care.
The British Heart Foundation said tha pandemic was having ‘a snowballing effect on the backlog of potentially life-saving treatment for people with heart disease’.
‘The pressure from Covid-19 may be lessening, but the backlog of cardiovascular care is ever-increasing,’ they added.
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