The pandemic was associated with conditions that likely contributed to risk-associated increased heart disease and stroke mortality.
Deaths from heart disease and stroke increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic because of factors other than an aging population. This reversed previous trends and widened racial disparities.
"We had been making progress in reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke, primarily due to preventive measures and timely interventions," said Dr. Stephen Sidney, director of research clinics and senior research scientist for the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. "Our study showed the pandemic didn't just stop these gains; it reversed them, with Black, Latino and Asian adults hit hardest. This tells us we are not doing enough nationwide to make health care equally accessible to all and to optimize the preventive measures we know can improve cardiovascular health."
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Sidney was part of a team that analyzed CDC data collected from 2011 to 2020 to assess age-adjusted mortality rates for heart disease and stroke. age-specific numbers of deaths and population estimates. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
From 2011 to 2019, deaths attributed to heart disease increased by 10.4%, and deaths attributed to stroke rose by 16.3%. The total age-associated increase in heart disease deaths from 2019 to 2020 was 17.6%, while the risk-associated decrease was 7.1%. For stroke, the total age-associated increase in deaths from 2019 to 2020 was 18.1%, and the total risk-associated decrease was 1.8%.
During the first year of the pandemic, heart disease and stroke deaths increased by 5.8% and 6.8%, respectively. However, the age-associated increases were 1.6% and 1.7% for heart disease and stroke, respectively. Risk-associated increases were 4.1% for heart disease and 5.2% for stroke.
Black adults experienced more than a fivefold higher percentage increase for heart disease and a twofold higher percent increase for stroke than white adults.
The pandemic was associated with conditions that likely contributed to risk-associated increased heart disease and stroke mortality, researchers said. These included periods of overcrowding of hospitals with patients who had COVID-19, resulting in fewer hospitalizations for acute cardiovascular events; fewer visits for medical care; poorer medication adherence and increased barriers to healthy lifestyle behaviors.
The researchers noted that the findings, along with the emergence of new virus strains associated with high COVID-19 rates, suggest more emphasis is needed on maintenance of optimal cardiovascular risk factor levels and vigilance toward equity in access to health care.
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
