In England, a record 6.5 million people are waiting for NHS hospital treatment.

Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA
Because hospitals are so crowded, nearly 100,000 individuals with major cardiac conditions, including some who are "living on borrowed time," are facing long waits for potentially life-saving NHS care.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has warned that some of them are in such terrible health that they will suffer a heart attack and die as a result of the "dangerous" long delays.

According to a BHF review of official NHS England statistics, the number of patients in England having to wait longer than the claimed maximum 18 weeks for cardiac treatment has trebled when Covid-19 struck, rising from 32,186 in February 2020 to an unprecedented 96,321.

They are awaiting procedures such as the insertion of a stent or balloon to reopen a blocked artery, the placement of a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator, or open heart surgery, such as bypasses or valve replacement surgeries. Others require an echocardiography, CT scan, or MRI scan right away to assist doctors in making treatment decisions.

Some people have previously experienced a heart attack or stroke and require specialised cardiac care to prevent future damage.

On Thursday, the massive increase in extended wait times for cardiac therapy was revealed. According to the most recent NHS England performance data, nearly 6.5 million individuals are now waiting for planned hospital treatment, including surgery.

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, has warned that the waiting list could grow even longer as more people who avoided seeking NHS care during the pandemic seek medical help afterwards.

"Cardiac care cannot be postponed." "Heart patients may be living on borrowed time if they do not receive timely treatment," said Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, a consultant cardiologist and the BHF's associate medical director.

"Hundreds of thousands of individuals are in limbo, waiting for cardiac surgery, invasive heart procedures, or critical diagnostic testing for months or even years." During this period, individuals may become progressively ill, and some may tragically die before receiving the critical heart care they require," she noted.

4,836 of the 96,321 long-wait cardiac patients had been on the waiting list for at least a year, compared to just 28 before the pandemic. And 95 of them have been waiting for more than two years.

"The repeated and protracted delays in important heart care that we are seeing will result in more preventable heart attacks and debilitating heart failure, and regrettably, some individuals will die as a direct result of their long wait for care," Babu-Narayan warned.

According to new numbers released today, the number of persons on the 6.5 million-strong waiting list for cardiac care has risen to 319,366 – than 100,000 more than in February 2020.