Decrease in acute coronary syndrome presentations during the COVID19 pandemic in upstate New York

Braiteh, Nabil; Rehman, Wajeeh ur; Alom, Md; Skovira, Vincent; Breiteh, Nour; Rehman, Ibraheem; Yarkoni, Alon; Kahsou, Hisham; Rehman, Afzal

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 (>24hours 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.