Two-year prognosis of acute coronary syndrome during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic()

BACKGROUND: The first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic significantly changed behaviour in terms of access to healthcare. AIM: To assess the effects of the pandemic and initial lockdown on the incidence of acute coronary syndrome and its long-term prognosis. METHODS: Patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome from 17 March to 6 July 2020 and from 17 March to 6 July 2019 were included. The number of admissions for acute coronary syndrome, acute complication rates and 2-year rates of survival free from major adverse cardiovascular events or death from any cause were compared according to the period of hospitalization. RESULTS: In total, 289 patients were included. We observed a 30 ± 3% drop in acute coronary syndrome admissions during the first lockdown, which did not recover in the 2 months after it was lifted. At 2 years, there were no significant differences in the combined endpoint of major adverse cardiovascular events or death from any cause between the different periods (P = 0.34). Being hospitalized during lockdown was not predictive of adverse events during follow-up (hazard ratio 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.45–1.66; P = 0.67). CONCLUSIONS: We did not observe an increased risk of major cardiovascular events or death at 2 years from initial hospitalization for patients hospitalized during the first lockdown, adopted in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, potentially as a result of the lack of power of the study.