The mortality rate in Europe reaches worrying figures. Deaths in Spain this year exceed those registered in 2020 and 2021 with more than 33,497 deathsof which only 5,827 can be attributed to high temperatures, according to data from the latest Daily Mortality Monitoring report published by the Carlos III Health Institute. Since the pandemic began, there has been an increase in the number of deaths. However, in the last year there have been more deaths caused by heat waves and for other pathologies, such as heart and cardiovascular diseases. According to experts, there are several factors that are interfering in the increase in mortality. Besides effects of high temperaturesthere has been an increase in the incidence of other diseases related to the urinary system and respiratory system. To all these factors we must add the delays that have occurred in health institutions due to the coronavirus. Manuel Martínez Selles, cardiologist and president of the Madrid Medical Association, acknowledges that a high number of deaths is a consequence of health impact caused by the covid. “We have seen an increase in waiting lists, worse control of chronic diseases, delays in diagnosis and treatment. The delay in diagnosis and in the start of treatment in a patient who has a cardiovascular problem or cancer is very serious, it can often be the difference between life and death”, says Martínez Selles.

Impact of Covid on the health system

In the latest report published by Eurosta, the European Union has recorded a 9% increase in deaths in September 2022 compared to the average for that month between 2016 and 2019. In conclusion, it is a excess of 30,000 deaths. Based on the published data and the expert analysis, what can be ruled out is that the increase in deaths is directly related to the covid. However, the impact that the pandemic has had on the health environment is now being suffered, causing collapses in primary care and serious delays in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.