Abstract
The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in
widespread economic, health and social disruptions. The delivery of
cardiovascular care has been stifled during the pandemic in order to
adhere to infection control measures as a way of protecting patients and
the workforce at large. This cautious approach has been protective since
individuals with COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease are anticipated to
have poorer outcomes and an increased risk of death. The combination of
postponing elective cardiovascular surgeries, reduced acute care and
long-term cardiac damage directly resulting from COVID-19 will likely
have increased the demand for cardiac care, particularly from patients
presenting with more severe symptoms. The combination of increased
demand and inhibited supply will likely result in huge backlog of unmet
patients’ needs. The novelty, virulence and infectivity of severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused substantial
morbidity and mortality which have necessitated modifications to the UK
government’s healthcare strategy. Without improving cost efficiency, the
UK’s ageing population will likely need an increasing spend on cardiac
surgery simply to maintain the same level of service. However, the
government’s short-term increase in spending is unsustainable especially
in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty. This means that the
long-term impact of COVID-19 will only increase the need to find
innovative ways of delivering equivalent or superior cardiac care at a
reduced unit cost.