FOI Ref: FOI/2023/4746
You asked
I would like to know how many confirmed cases and suspected cases of Myocarditis and Pericarditis you have recorded in the UK for the years 2017-2022.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Unfortunately, we do not hold information on cases of myocarditis and pericarditis.
Please contact the following Health agencies who are better placed to answer your enquiry.
- England: NHS Digital at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.
- Wales: Public Health Wales at foi.phw@wales.nhs.uk
- Scotland: Public Health Scotland PHS.FOI@phs.scot
- Northern Ireland: Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland at Foi.pha@hscni.net
You may also find the following report helpful. This has been written by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). They have produced this clinical guidance to support the detection and management of clinical cases of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination. The report is available here:Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination: clinical management guidance for healthcare professionals and includes a link to reports of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with COVID-19 vaccines, received by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Deaths due to Myocarditis and Pericarditis in England and Wales
We hold information regarding myocarditis and pericarditis deaths in case this is of interest. We are responsible for mortality statistics for England and Wales, and this is derived from the information collected at death registration. For Scotland and Northern Ireland mortality data please contact National Records Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
The conditions mentioned on the death certificate are then coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
- Myocarditis is defined using ICD-10 codes I40; 141 and I51.4
- Pericarditis is defined using ICD-10 code I30; 132 and I31.9
However, there are various other codes related to heart disease that you may wish to include in a tabulation. The ICD-10 code online lookup tool is available for you to find relevant causes of death. Please see ICD-10 Chapter I00-I99 'Diseases of the circulatory system'.
Numbers of death registrations by underlying cause, sex, age group and area of usual residence, for England and Wales, 2013 to 2021, are available via the NOMIS webservice.
Please see the following instructions for using this service:
- Select timeframe – 2013 to 2021
- Select the geography - (England and Wales, regional or by local authority)
- Select Age - All ages or 5-year age bands Select Gender - Total or Male/Female
- Select rates - All deaths, rates or percentage of population for example.
- Select cause of death (ICD-10 code search is available)
- Select format (Excel or CSV for example)
If you wish to obtain data for earlier years, you can find death registrations by underlying cause (ICD-10 code), sex, age group for England and Wales, 2001 to 2021, in our 21st Century Mortality publication.
Detailed cause of death information is not yet available for 2022 because data are still provisional. Information for 2022 will be released in our Deaths Registered Series and NOMIS in July 2023.
If you wish to discuss mortality statistics further, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.