Publication date: Jul 28, 2025

The full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact during different phases of the pandemic and the recovery of cardiac surgical services in the UK have not been comprehensively assessed. This study aims to evaluate these disruptions’ impact and immediate recovery on delivering adult cardiac surgical care in the UK. The periods investigated were divided into pre-lockdown, first lockdown, first relaxation, second lockdown, second relaxation, third lockdown, and post-lockdown (recovery). Changes in surgical practice, early and mid-term clinical outcomes, and hospital readmission were analysed using various metrics across different time periods. Coronary artery bypass grafts were the most performed procedure across all time periods, with the average number of urgent and emergency increasing compared to the pre-pandemic period. Aortic valve replacement was the next most frequent, followed by combined aortic valve and coronary artery bypass surgery. However, those procedures remained predominantly elective across all periods. There was a significant change in 30-day mortality rates across the pandemic phases (p 

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