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 b .05) of total ACS cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. In NSTEMI patients, 36.4% presented late (N24 hours of symptoms) during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with 2019 (27.1%, P = .033).
ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial drop by 40.7% (P b .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.
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