Differences in the Treatment of Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Pre-COVID and COVID Era: An Analysis from Two German High-Volume Centers

The COVID-19 pandemic is placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems worldwide with the risk that acute cardiovascular diseases are treated too late. The present study aims to analyze patients with acute coronary syndrome in the current pandemic. A total of 966 patients (2019 n = 463, 2020 n = 503)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cardiovascular development and disease 2021-10, Vol.8 (11), p.145
Main Authors: Eckner, Dennis, Hofmann, Eva, Ademaj, Fadil, Martinovic, Kristinko, Vogt, Ferdinand, Becher, Peter, Schrage, Benedikt, Westermann, Dirk, Pauschinger, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acute coronary syndrome
Acute coronary syndromes
Age
age distribution
Calendars
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 pandemic
Heart attacks
Hospitals
Mortality
Pain
pain to first medical contact
Pandemics
Patients
subacute myocardial infarction
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic is placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems worldwide with the risk that acute cardiovascular diseases are treated too late. The present study aims to analyze patients with acute coronary syndrome in the current pandemic. A total of 966 patients (2019 n = 463, 2020 n = 503) can be evaluated. A comparison of patient care during and before the COVID-19 pandemic was made in terms of patient characteristics and pre- and in-hospital processes. Another aim is to show how many patients seek clinical care at a late stage of the disease. After Lockdown in Germany at week 12, 2020, there was a significant decrease in patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), significant for STEMI cases in the first weeks after Lockdown (calendar week 13–16 2019 n = 43, 2020 n = 30; p = 0.02). The time from pain to first medical contact (time to FMC) is significantly extended during Lockdown, while internal clinical processes are unchanged. The rate of subacute myocardial infarction is numerically, but not significantly increased in calendar weeks 15, 2020 (p = 0.40) and 16 (p = 0,19). In addition, elderly patients avoid treatment for multifactorial reasons, and the longer overall pain to FMC may impact long-term mortality.
ISSN:2308-3425
2308-3425
DOI:10.3390/jcdd8110145