Trends in National Death Rates From Heart Disease in the United States, 2010-2020

Introduction: Heart disease (HD) death rates have been declining for decades. Updated trend data for 2010-2020 are needed to inform clinical and public health practice. Method(s): We obtained age-standardized death rates per 100,000 population from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WONDER database, which aggregates death certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System. Among adults aged >=35 years, HD deaths were defined by underlying cause of death International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision codes. We calculated percent change between 2010, 2019, and 2020 death rates overall and by HD subtypes and demographic subgroups. Result(s): HD death rates declined during 2010-2019 and increased in 2020 across age, sex, and race and ethnicity groups. The national HD death rate declined by 9.8% from 2010 to 2019 (347.3 vs. 313.0 per 100,000) and increased by 4.1% in 2020 to 325.9 per 100,000, which approximated the 2015 rate (326.5 per 100,000). Coronary heart disease accounted for 55% of total HD deaths in 2020. Among non-Hispanic Black adults, the HD death rate declined by 10.4% during from 2010 to 2019 and increased by 11.2% in 2020, returning the 2020 HD death rate (440.7 per 100,000) to approximately the 2010 rate (442.4 per 100,000). Among adults aged 35-54 and 55-74 years, HD death rates declined from 2010 to 2019 (35-54: 5.5%, 55-74: 2.3% decline) and increased in 2020 (35-54: 12.0%, 55-74: 7.8% increase), resulting in a higher HD death rate in 2020 (35-54: 54.1, 55-74: 297.3 per 100,000) than in 2010 (35-54: 51.1, 55-74: 282.5 per 100,000). Conclusion(s): National declines in HD death rates had reversed by 2020 during the Coronavirus Disease-2019 pandemic. Setbacks represented approximately 5 years of lost progress among all adults and >=10 years of lost progress among non-Hispanic Black adults and younger adults. Clinical and public health efforts may need to be modified to reverse negative trends in HD mortality. (Figure Presented).

Cross sectional survey of medical student volunteering and education during the coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom

Introduction: COVID-19 led to global disruption of healthcare and many students volunteered to provide clinical support. Volunteering to work was a unique medical education opportunity;however, it is unknown whether this was a positive learning experience. Methods: The COVID Ready 2 study is a national cross-sectional study of all medical students at UK medical schools. We will compare opinions of those who did and did not volunteer to determine the educational benefit and issues they faced. We will use thematic analysis to identify themes in qualitative responses, in addition to quantitative analysis. Results: The primary objective is to explore the effect of volunteering during the pandemic on medical education in comparison to those who did not volunteer. Our secondary objectives are to identify: whether students would be willing to assume similar roles in a non-pandemic setting;if students found the experience more or less beneficial than traditional hospital placements and reasons for this;what the perceived benefits and disadvantages of volunteering were;the difference in perceived preparedness between students who did and did not volunteer for foundation training year one and the next academic year;training received by volunteers;and to explore issues associated with volunteering, including safety issues and issues with role and competence. Conclusions: We anticipate this study will help identify volunteer structures that have been beneficial for students, so that similar infrastructures can be used in the future;and help determine whether formal voluntary roles should be introduced into the non-pandemic medical curriculum.

Caught in the currents: evaluating the evidence for common downstream police response interventions in calls involving persons with mental illness

The origins of this report, and of the Mental Health and Policing Working Group, can be traced to the unique situation Canadians have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unique circumstances of this global outbreak, which have for many Canadians resulted in serious illness and death, intensified economic uncertainties, altered family and lifestyle dynamics, and generated or exacerbated feelings of loneliness and social dislocation, rightly led the Royal Society of Canada's COVID-19 Taskforce to consider the strains and other negative impacts on individual, group, and community mental health. With the central role that police too often play in the lives of individuals in mental and (or) emotional crisis, we were tasked with exploring what can be reasonably said about the state of our current knowledge of police responses to persons with mental illness.

Introductions to the Community: Early-Career Researchers in the Time of COVID-19

COVID-19 has unfortunately halted lab work, conferences, and in-person networking, which is especially detrimental to researchers just starting their labs. Through social media and our reviewer networks, we met some early-career stem cell investigators impacted by the closures. Here, they introduce themselves and their research to our readers.