Nov. 29, 2022 — Deaths from heart disease and stroke among U.S. adults have been falling since 2010. But new research shows that the COVID-19 pandemic reversed that decline in 2020.
It’s as if COVID wiped out five years of progress, pushing rates back to 2015 levels, the researchers said.
Non-Hispanic blacks and those under age 75 were more affected than others, and the pandemic reversed 10 years of progress for these groups.
Dr. Rebecca C. Woodruff, The findings of these studies are presented At American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022.
Deaths from heart disease in the U.S. have been falling for decades, she said, thanks to better detection of risk factors such as high blood pressure and better treatments, such as statins for cholesterol.
The reduction in heart disease deaths from 1900 to 1999 “is considered The Best Public Health Achievements of the 20th Centurysaid Woodruff, an epidemiologist at the CDC.
The reversal of this positive trend shows that even in challenging circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for people to “work with their healthcare providers to prevent and manage existing heart disease,” she said.
Woodruff advises, “Everyone can improve and maintain cardiovascular health and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by following the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 – Eat better, be more active, quit smoking, get healthy sleep, manage your weight, manage your cholesterol, manage your blood sugar and manage your blood pressure. ”
“The COVID-19 vaccine can help everyone, especially those with underlying heart disease or other health conditions, and protect people from severe COVID-19 infection,” she emphasized.
Andrew J. Einstein, MD, PhD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, who was not involved in the study, said the results showed a “very disturbing shift” in the decline in heart disease deaths over the past decade. .
The findings underscore that “as a society, we need to work hard to ensure that all people participate in the healthcare system, with one goal being to improve heart health outcomes, which worsened significantly in 2020,” he said.
“If you don’t reach out to your primary care provider, it’s important to find someone you can relate to and talk to about heart-healthy living; get your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol checked; ask about your symptoms and get checked out. You catch the disease early; and you are referred for more specialized cardiac care as needed,” he said.
some research results
Researchers analyze CDC data want to know database.
They identified heart disease as the cause of death in adults 35 and older.
They found that the number of deaths from heart disease per 100,000 people (cardiac death rate) fell every year from 2010 to 2019, but increased in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.
This growth is reflected in the general population, males, females, all age groups, all races and Hispanic groups.
Among the general population, death rates from heart disease decreased by 9.8 percent from 2010 to 2019. But the rate increased by 4.1% in 2020, returning to 2015 levels.
Among non-Hispanic blacks, death rates from heart disease decreased by 10.4 percent from 2010 to 2019, but increased by 11.2 percent in 2020, returning to 2010 levels.
Likewise, among adults ages 35 to 54 and 55 to 74, death rates from heart disease decreased from 2010 to 2019 and rose to higher levels in 2020 than in 2010.
By 2020, men had lost about seven years of progress in reducing heart disease mortality, compared with three years for women, the researchers said.
