According to CBS News, The American Heart Association only got the final numbers on cardiovascular-related mortality in the United States this month. They reveal that during the first year of the COVID-19 epidemic, the yearly rate of fatalities climbed, reaching its highest point since 2015.
The number of Americans killed by cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease and stroke increased to 928,741 in 2020, up from 874,613 the previous year. The adjusted death rate climbed that year for the first time in 10 years.
“COVID-19 affects cardiovascular health in two ways. This virus has been proven to cause inflammation as well as new clotting. Many people with pre-existing or newly developed heart disease or stroke symptoms did not seek medical attention until it was too late.” said Dr. Michelle Albert, president of the association and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
Cardiovascular disease was responsible for 41.2% of these fatalities in 2020, with stroke a distant second at 17.3%. This finding adds to the evidence that the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted American health and lifespan. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of fatalities attributed to cardiovascular disease is expected to rise by 2020.
According to Rebecca Woodruff, a CDC team member, “death rates from heart disease among adults have been dropping for decades, which the CDC has recognized as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the preceding century.”
Before the pandemic, however, countrywide rate rises were not the norm. Heart disease death rates declined in just 15 states when adjusted for age, according to data gathered by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics between 2011 and 2019. Rates rose in certain places, such as Arkansas, while remaining steady in others.
Significant disparities exist between demographic groupings as well. Cardiovascular disease struck more than half of males across all racial and ethnic groups between 2017 and 2020, ranging from 51.2% of White men to 58.9% of men of color. Women of color had the highest prevalence of cardiovascular disease (59.0%), followed by white women (44.6%), Asian women (38.5%), and Hispanic women (37.3%).
According to the analysis, Asian, Black, and Hispanic people had the most excellent cardiovascular mortality rates in 2020, echoing some of the hardest-hit areas during the initial wave of the pandemic.
“Mischaracterizing or erasing the diversity of communities hampers our ability to understand the sociocultural determinants that contribute to variances and disparities in health and sickness,” co-authors Drs. Nilay Shah and Yvonne Commodore-Mensah said. Experts have long warned that those who have common cardiac conditions, such as coronary artery disease, are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 sickness and death.
On the other hand, complications from a COVID infection, such as heart disease and blood clots, can have fatal repercussions on the cardiovascular system. Several studies have shown concerning linkages between the outbreak and deteriorating risk factors that may cause heart disease.
