The shadow effect of the pandemic: coronavirus has increased mortality from cardiovascular diseases

The article analyzes the statistics of mortality and morbidity of the population of the Russian Federation from 1965 to 2022, with a focus on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the period 2020-2021, there is a sharp increase in mortality from respiratory diseases, correlating with the spread of COVID-19, especially among people with chronic ailments. Nevertheless, diseases of the circulatory system and oncological diseases continued to be the main causes of death, there was an increase in mortality from these diseases after the previous period of reduction in mortality from them. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with these and other chronic non-communicable diseases were under a “double blow”, since COVID-19 had a more negative impact on people with chronic diseases as compared to healthy people and, at the same time, patients with chronic diseases were deprived of necessary medical care due to the overload of the healthcare system with COVID-19 patients. The suddenness of death from cardiac problems and the lack of previous diagnosis are pointed out, emphasizing the importance of strengthening monitoring of these diseases. The increase in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension, underscores the need for prevention and early diagnosis of such diseases. Four clusters of the RF regions have been identified for the causes of mortality from the main groups of diseases. The authors point out the need to develop special measures in the health system development programs depending on the regional specifics.