STEMI and COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global healthcare, leading to reduced elective admissions and increased virtual care.
• Understanding the pandemic's effect on acute cardiovascular events like ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess changes in STEMI volumes, door-to-reperfusion times, and in-hospital events before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To compare STEMI patient care metrics between the pre-COVID-19 (PC) and acute COVID-19 (AC) periods.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 1,785 acute STEMI cases across 16 centers in Saudi Arabia.
• Data collected from January 1 to April 30, 2020 (COVID-19 period) and compared to January 1 to April 30, 2018-2019 (pre-COVID period).

Main Results:

• Total STEMI volumes decreased by 28% (n=500) and reperfusion-treated STEMI volumes by 27.6% (n=450) during the pandemic.
• Door-to-balloon time <90 minutes was achieved in 73.1% of cases in 2020.
• The proportion of patients experiencing symptom onset to reperfusion times >12 hours significantly increased to 17.2% in 2020 compared to <3% pre-COVID.
• No significant differences were found in in-hospital events or length of hospital stay between the periods.

Conclusions:

• STEMI volumes decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a notable increase in delayed patient presentation.
• The standard of care for STEMI patients was maintained, but delays in seeking medical attention were evident.