50% Drop In Heart Attack A&E Attendances

New data from hospitals across England show that the number of people seen in hospital with a suspected heart attack has halved since the beginning of March. The BHF is warning that thousands of people may be at greater risk of suffering long term heart damage, needing intensive care, or even dying as a result.

The new data from Public Health England shows that the number of people attending emergency departments in England with symptoms of a possible heart attack dropped from an average of around 300 per day¹ at the beginning of March, to around 150 per day recorded by the end of March.

According to the BHF, this 50 per cent drop is equivalent to approximately 5000 of the expected people every month, or more than 1100 people every week, with possible heart attack symptoms not being seen in emergency departments.

In another survey of six heart attack centres in London, where the rates of COVID-19 are highest, there was an average drop of 38% in the number of emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)² procedures carried out to treat heart attacks in the second half of March this year compared to the same period last year.

In a further BHF survey of 167 cardiologists across all regions and all nations in the UK;

• 84% report a decrease in numbers of patients admitted with the type of heart attack needing PCI treatment.
• 71% believe people are afraid to visit hospital during the COVID-19 crisis due to fear of being exposed to the virus
• 46% believe people are worried about putting pressure on an already overburdened NHS.

Dr Nick Linker, National Clinical Director for Heart Disease, NHS England and NHS Improvement, said:

"NHS hospitals are continuing to prioritise urgent services as well as preparing and responding to the COVID outbreak and so it remains important if someone has symptoms of a heart attack such as chest pain or an underlying heart problem that gets worse that they seek urgent medical attention as they normally would.

"Treating heart attacks promptly and effectively saves lives and the services to treat them are still in place for those who need them."

A delay in people seeking medical help is one of a number of possible reasons behind the drop in emergency admissions. Breathlessness and chest pain are also known symptoms of COVID-19, potentially making it harder to identify people whose symptoms are being caused by a heart problem, and not the virus. It is also possible that changes in our behaviour caused by the pandemic are affecting these numbers.

This drop has also been seen in other countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and more in-depth research is needed to properly understand how COVID-19 is impacting heart and circulatory disease.

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said:

"The coronavirus pandemic is extremely serious, but it’s concerning if it also means people’s fears about the virus are putting them off calling 999 when they suffer heart attack symptoms.

“These are uncertain times, and it’s understandable that people might feel apprehensive about having to go to hospital or putting unnecessary strain on the NHS. But heart attacks don’t stop for a global pandemic."

Dr Ramzi Khamis, Consultant Cardiologist and Co-Head of Cardiology at Hammersmith Hospital, said:

"We want to stress that we have the staff, equipment and resources to treat heart attacks. With swift diagnosis and treatment, most people with heart attacks will recover and go on to live a healthy life. However, delays in treatment puts lives at risk, and will result in more pressure on the NHS, not less."

The BHF is urging anyone who experiences heart attack symptoms to seek medical help immediately by calling 999. Leaving a heart attack untreated can be deadly, and the risks posed by delaying reporting are much greater than those posed by the virus.

Paramedics are often able to diagnose a heart attack straight away, taking people straight to the right hospital and department where they can receive the best treatment.

Visit the BHF website for more information about heart attacks, the symptoms, and what to do.

Read the article on the BHF website.

Notes:

1. Numbers expressed as a 7-day rolling average

• In the UK more than 100,000 hospital admissions each year are due to heart attacks; that's 280 admissions each day or 1 every 5 minutes.
• More than 200,000 UK hospital visits each year are due to heart attacks.
• In the 1960s more than 7 out of 10 heart attacks in the UK were fatal. Today at least 7 out of 10 people survive.

2. PCI is an emergency procedure to open the blocked coronary artery triggering a heart attack and limit damage to heart muscle.