Course: Changes in Patterns of Hospital Visits for Acute Myocardial Infarction or Ischemic Stroke During COVID-19 Surges
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2021-06-02
Early during the COVID-19 pandemic, marked declines in patients presenting with acute cardiovascular conditions were observed,, whereas mortality attributed to cardiovascular causes increased. This raised concerns that patient reluctance to seek emergency care contributed to preventable complications and excess deaths, and public health campaigns sought to reassure patients that hospitals were safe and to encourage seeking care when needed. As COVID-19 resurged in late 2020, rates of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths exceeded those of previous surges. Many countries reimplemented lockdowns, and recent UK data indicate that presentations for emergent cardiovascular conditions again declined. We evaluated changes in rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) hospitalizations and suspected ischemic stroke as measures of patient willingness to seek emergency care during the most recent COVID-19 surges in the US.
Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
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