Effekt der COVID-19-Pandemie und des Lockdowns auf die Inzidenz von Herzinfarktpatienten in Deutschland – Ergebnisse einer Metaanalyse

BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there have been observations from around the world reporting on the phenomenon of a reduction in numbers of patients with myocardial infarction. In this meta-analysis the incidences of STEMI and NSTEMI patient admissions in Germany during and before the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed through PubMed, Embase and Web of Science using combinations of the keywords “COVID”, and “myocardial infarction”, or “STEMI”, or “NSTEMI”, and “Germany”. RESULTS: Based on our search strategy out of 40 identified studies 5 were included in the meta-analysis. The hospital admission rates of patients with acute myocardial infarction in Germany significantly declined during the pandemic (incidence rate ratio, IRR = 0.849, 95% confidence interval 0.827–0.872). This was the same for patients with STEMI (IRR = 0.875, 95% confidence interval 0.837–0.914) and NSTEMI (IRR = 0.760, 95% confidence interval 0.633–0.911). DISCUSSION: In this meta-analysis we could show that in Germany the frequency of hospital admissions of patients with myocardial infarction significantly declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, during the ongoing pandemic it is crucial to continue informing and educating the public on the symptoms of a heart attack and the necessity of timely medical care to avoid potential endangerment of patients with myocardial infarction.