CDC: Heart disease deaths have risen significantly since the start of COVID pandemic

The CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention) has found that U.S. death rates from heart disease rapidly increased in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic after consistently decreasing from 2010 to 2019.

The United States fatalities from heart disease increased by 4.1% in 2020. Death rates increased consistently across all age groups, and across sex, race and ethnicity groups, particularly among younger adults and non-Hispanic Black adults.

This is based on preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022 conference in Chicago. The heart group released the abstract Monday.

“Prior to 2020, death rates from heart disease had been declining among adults for decades, which has been recognized by the CDC as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the last century,” Rebecca C. Woodruff, who is an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and also the study’s lead author, said in a statement given to the media.

Woodruff said that COVID restrictions consistently disrupted access to preventive health care, which may have led to delays in detecting and treating heart disease.