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Pandemic could make heart disease No. 1 killer of Americans indefinitely, CDC reports

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States, with approximately 653,000 people dying as a result each year.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this number will likely increase significantly in the years to come as a direct result of the pandemic. The organization released data on Wednesday showing the growing number of cases could be due to heart complications as a result of a COVID-19 infection. Myocarditis and pericarditis are two examples. Myocarditis is when the heart muscle itself becomes inflamed. The inflammation weakens the muscle and can lead to abnormal heartbeats and sudden death. Pericarditis is inflammation surrounding the heart. According to cardiologist, Dr. Sandeep Dube, roughly 60 to 70% of people who contract COVID-19 will get one of these two conditions.

Woman suffering from chest pain. (Photo by: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

But myocarditis and pericarditis aren’t the only culprits. Heart disease will likely remain number one on the list for a multitude of reasons — all of which are pandemic related.

“A lot of people have been sequestered at home,” Dube, also the incoming president of the American Heart Association’s Indiana branch, told News 8. “When we are at home we are not eating healthy. People weren’t exercising as much outdoors as they were doing before. They weren’t meeting people and socializing as much. That affects mental health and we know when mental health suffers all other organ systems suffer including the heart.”

In a statement by American Heart Association president, Dr. Donald Lloyd Jones says, “Research shows that COVID-19 can cause heart and vascular damage directly. But the indirect effects of the pandemic can affect overall cardiovascular health because most heart disease…are preventable with appropriate lifestyle treatment and healthy lifestyle behaviors.”

Jones goes on to say the country has made tremendous progress to reduce heart disease in the past two decades, but “much of that progress has gone out the window since the pandemic.”

For resources on how to live a healthier lifestyle, click here.