COVID-19 AND ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE EMERGENCIES: WHAT CARDIAC SURGERY
SHOULD EXPECT?
Abstract
The incidence of mechanical complications of acute coronary syndromes
(ACS) needing cardiac surgery has reduced significantly in the last
years due to early diagnosis and treatments. Covid-19 pandemic, however,
would generate in the patients a sense of fear regarding access to the
ERs so they probably underestimate symptoms such as chest pain or angina
equivalents until situation does not became critical. In this way, this
behaviour could create a vast pool of patients who will enter the
hospital in much more critical situations and with mechanical
complications of an evolving ACS needing cardiac surgery treatment.