The postponement of tens of thousands of hospital procedures is putting the lives of people with long-term heart conditions at risk, according to the British Heart Foundation.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a backlog which would only get larger as patients waited for care, it said.
People with heart disease are at increased risk of serious illness with COVID-19, and some are shielding.
The BHF estimates that 28,000 procedures have been delayed in England since the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK. These are planned hospital procedures, including the implanting of pacemakers or stents, widening blocked arteries to the heart, and tests to diagnose heart problems.
People now waiting for new appointments would already have been waiting for treatment when the lockdown started, the charity said, as it urged the NHS to support people with heart conditions "in a safe way".
Source: 5 June 2020
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