A rise in the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) correlated with a fall in the number of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) hospitalizations during the COVID-19 surge in the New York Metropolitan Area, according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on July 14.

Stravros E. Mountantonakis, MD, FACC, et al., compared data from March 20 to April 22, 2019 to the same time period in 2020. Researchers examined the number of daily OHCAs and the number of pronounced deaths on the scene (DOS) from the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). Researchers also examined data on the number of admissions for ACS at 13 Northwell Health hospitals from the same time periods.

From March 20 to April 22, 2019, researchers found there were 2,242 OHCAs, of which 861 (38%) were DOS. During the same period of 2020, there were 7,249 OHCAs, of which 5,139 (71%) were DOS. This represents a 4.97-fold increase in OHCAs and an almost doubling of DOS.

From March 20 to April 22, 2019, there were 2,084 Northwell Health hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of ACS, compared with 911 hospital admissions due to ACS for this time frame in 2020 – representing a 56.3% reduction.

"During the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in NY, a marked increase in OHCAs reported by the FDNY paralleled a more than halving in ACS hospitalizations across a large [health care] network," write the authors of the research letter.

"While it is impossible to make a direct relationship between the two findings, challenges in access to, and fear of seeking, care may, in part, explain the observed results. Patients need to be educated and encouraged to seek care for emergent conditions despite the COVID-19 pandemic."

Clinical Topics: Acute Coronary Syndromes, COVID-19 Hub

Keywords: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Acute Coronary Syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics, Hospitalization, Health Resources

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