Cardiovascular disease should be a priority for health systems globally

Although the worst of the covid-19 pandemic is over, many countries continue to experience excess deaths.1 In England, deaths in 2022 exceeded the 2015-19 average by 6%; cardiovascular disease was a major contributor.23 There are strong reasons why all health systems should prioritise cardiovascular disease in their post-pandemic plans.4 Covid-19 increases the risk of subsequently developing cardiovascular conditions5 and of death in people with cardiovascular disease.6Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity, disability, and mortality globally, including in low income countries. Populations in sub-Saharan Africa have a high prevalence of hypertension, for example, and those in South Asia have a high prevalence of heart disease.78 Cardiovascular disease contributed substantially to the slowdown in life expectancy improvements observed in countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the decade before the pandemic.9 This slowdown was greatest in the UK, where life expectancy was already lower than in…
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