Status of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Southern India During COVID-19 Lockdown: A Multicentric Study

There has been a reduction in the reported cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI) across the globe during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2). An attempt was made to find out the number of acute MI cases treated during the COVID-19 lockdown period (April 2020) and highlight the possible reasons for the changes in the occurrence. A multicentric retrospective observational study was performed to collect the selected data from 12 private hospitals distributed in 4 cities-Madurai, Trichy (Thiruchirapalli), Erode, and Salem-of the Tamil Nadu state in southern India. There was a significant (P<.001) reduction in ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI), and total (STEMI and NSTEMI together) cases during the lockdown period (April 1 to 30, 2020) as compared with no-lockdown periods such as January and February 2020 and April 2019 and April 2018 in all cities, whereas the reduction was not significant for NSTEMI in Trichy when data for the lockdown period was compared with those for January and February 2020. Overall, there is a reduction in acute MI cases, which may be due to alterations in modifiable risk factors during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Hence, implementation of public education and polices on controlling modifiable risk factors is likely to pay dividends.