ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction and COVID-19: Is There a Synergistic Effect?

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has widely and profoundly impacted cardiovascular care worldwide. In Brazil, a decrease in emergency department visits for chest pain has been witnessed in both public and private healthcare providers. 1,2 There has been a 23% reduction in weekly emergency department visits for chest pain, from 13.0 to 10.1 per 100.000 habitants, in public health services in Curitiba, Paraná. Private emergency departments have reported an even higher 42% reduction in suspected acute coronary syndrome presentations. A meta-analysis of 12 international studies, conducted with50,123 patients, has shown a nearly 25% decline, from 11.0 to 8.2, in STelevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) daily admissions during the pandemic. Although no increase in symptom onset to first medical contact (patient delay) was reported, there was an increase in door-to-balloon time, 3 and no change in mortality was reported.In this edition of the International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences, Vargas et al. report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic concerning the reperfusion times of 336 patients who underwent primary angioplasty for STEMI at a single, mid-sized, tertiary center in Passos, Minas Gerais, Brazil. This was a retrospective, before-and-after study carried out between