Decrease in acute coronary syndrome presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic in upstate New York

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nabil Braiteh, Wilson Regional Medical Center; Wajeeh ur Rehman, Wilson Regional Medical Center; Md Alom, Wilson Regional Medical Center; Vincent Skovira, Wilson Regional Medical Center; Nour Breiteh, American University of Beirut; Ibraheem Rehman, Emory University; Alon Yarkoni, Wilson Regional Medical Center; Hisham Kahsou, Wilson Regional Medical Center; Afzal Rehman, Wilson Regional Medical Center
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-08-01
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2020.05.009
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: AMERICAN HEART JOURNAL
• Volume: 226
• Start Page: 147
• End Page: 151
• Grant/Funding Information: No extramural funding was used to support this work.
• Keywords: acute respiratory syndrome; COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction The COVID-19 virus is a devastating pandemic that has impacted the US healthcare system significantly. More than one study reported a significant decrease in acute coronary syndrome admissions during that pandemic which is still due to unknown reasons. Methods This is a retrospective non-controlled multi-centered study of 180 patients (117 males and 63 females) with acute coronary syndrome (STEMI and NSTEMI) admitted during March/April of 2019 and March/April 2020 in Upstate New York. Results A total of 113 patients (61.9% males, 38.1% females) with a mean age of 72.3 ± 14.2 presented during March/April 2019 with ACS (STEMI + NSTEMI) while only 67 (70.1% males, 29.9% females) COVID-19 negative patients with a mean age of 65.1 ± 14.5 presented during the same period (March/April) in 2020. This is a drop by 40.7% (P < .05) of total ACS cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. In NSTEMI patients, 36.4% presented late (>24 hours of symptoms) during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with 2019 (27.1%, P = .033). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial drop by 40.7% (P < .05) of total ACS admissions in our area. This decrease in hospital admissions and late presentations can be a worrisome sign for an increase in future complications of myocardial infarctions.