Heart attack deaths worldwide increased by 17% during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is one of the collateral damage caused by the coronavirus and the resulting lockdown, the researchers explain. It is because heart disease patients who need emergency treatment did not receive adequate treatment due to hospital lockdown.
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK analyzed 158 studies examining the impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health care, including hospitalizations, screenings, number of heart disease appointments and mortality. These studies were conducted in 48 countries over a two-year period from December 2019 to December 2021.
A study review found that hospitalizations for severe heart attack cases, in which one of the arteries that supply blood throughout the body were completely blocked, decreased by 22% during the pandemic. The number of hospital admissions for less severe cases of partial blockage of arteries has dropped by a third.
According to the researchers, this phenomenon is not due to a decrease in heart attack cases, but to fewer people visiting hospitals for treatment. This is because the medical system around the world is under extreme strain due to the corona virus, and people were also afraid of getting infected with the virus, so they could not stay away from hospitals or be hospitalized, the researchers explained.
The amount of time patients waited to receive treatment for a heart attack also increased. Across the globe, severe heart attacks have forced patients to wait 69 minutes longer than before the pandemic to seek treatment. The researchers pointed out that ‘timely and appropriate treatment’ is important to increase the survival rate of heart attack.
34% fewer heart attack surgeries and more medication
Meanwhile, the number of heart surgeries performed worldwide fell by 34%. Specifically, the decline was 40% in low-income countries and 24% in high-income countries. Coronary angioplasties, performed as an emergency treatment for a heart attack, is a procedure in which a short wire mesh tube called a stent is permanently inserted into the artery to allow blood to flow better.
These patients were often treated with thrombolytic drugs such as alteplase and streptokinase, the researchers said, and the use of these drugs has almost doubled, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
In addition, surgery to insert an electronic implantable device to treat abnormal heartbeats, such as a pacemaker, was 49% lower than the pre-pandemic figure.
Dr Ramesh Nadaraja, a cardiologist who led the study, said: “This analysis shows that people around the world did not receive the heart care they deserve during the pandemic. “This will have sequelae, as complications that can be fatal or cause chronic disease arise,” he said.
“Unless mitigation strategies are implemented promptly, secondary cardiovascular damage from missed diagnosis and delayed treatment will continue to accumulate,” he warned.
Study author Chris Gale, a cardiologist, said:[코로나가 아니었다면] There is little doubt that deaths and diseases that would not have happened will continue,” he said.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the European Heart Journal.
Reporter Jeong Hee-eun [email protected]
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