Covid-19 Pandemic Effects On Clinical Care Of Cardiovascular Patients In Spring 2020

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a focus of acute medical care on the treatment of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and pneumonia with consequences for all other medical specialties. Between March and May 2020 a decline in the number of admissions for elective cardiac procedures as well as for cardiac emergencies was observed. The number of patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction decreased, especially those with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), while time intervals between symptom onset and admission sometimes increased. In some studies an increase in infarct-related mortality was reported. There are multiple possible reasons for these findings, which include fear of patients to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 in hospital, misinterpretation of symptoms and focusing of the healthcare system on the pandemic. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 can lead to a higher proneness to thrombosis and therefore induce more severe courses of myocardial infarction.