The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute coronary syndrome hospitalizations and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Greece

OBJECTIVES: After coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, striking decreases in the number of hospital admissions for acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) and rises in rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have been noted. STUDY DESIGN: This is an analysis of prospectively collected data from a cardiology department in a single, large volume hospital of the National Health System of the Metropolitan area of Athens. METHODS: We investigated the numbers of OHCA and hospital admissions for ACS during a 1-year period and made comparisons between the pre-COVID-19 and the COVID-19 outbreak periods. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty five patients were admitted during the total period of observation with the diagnosis of ACS. The mean monthly number of admissions for ACS for the pre-COVID-19 era was significantly higher than that for the post-COVID-19 era (20.1 ± 7.8 vs 8.8 ± 6.5 admissions, Ρ = 0.024). The cases of OHCA which were transferred to our emergency room department by emergency medical services during the same period were nominally lower in the prepandemic compared with the postpandemic era (1.9 ± 1.7 vs 4.0 ± 4.6, P = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides hints on the potential unintended consequences of the pandemic in countries characterized by fewer COVID-19 cases and fatalities but prompt measures of social contact restrictions and lockdown.