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Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Cardiac Outpatients' Perception of Seeking Medical Advice
Sondos A Samargandy1, Turki A Al Garni2, Abdulrahman Almoghairi2
1Interventional Cardiology Division, Adult Cardiology Department, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Cardiac patients largely continue seeking care during COVID-19, but fear of infection and increased stress are significant concerns. Telemedicine and patient support are crucial for maintaining cardiovascular care continuity.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Telemedicine
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to a noticeable decrease in emergency room visits for cardiovascular conditions globally.
- This decline prompted speculation regarding patient behavior and its impact on cardiovascular health management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify reasons why patients avoided seeking medical care during the pandemic.
- To assess the impact of these reasons on patient stress levels and medication adherence.
- To highlight the evolving role of virtual medicine in cardiovascular care.
Main Methods:
- A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted.
- The study involved 388 patients from a cardiac outpatient department.
- Data was collected virtually using telemedicine platforms.
Main Results:
- The majority of cardiac outpatients continued to seek medical advice for symptoms despite the pandemic.
- Fear of contracting COVID-19 infection was a significant factor influencing decisions to visit emergency rooms.
- Increased stress levels were commonly reported by patients during this challenging period.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac outpatients generally remain adherent to medical advice and medication during the pandemic.
- Patient concerns necessitate enhanced support measures, including patient education and telemedicine.
- Implementing strategies like hotlines, mobile applications, and medication delivery is essential for ensuring continuity of care.
Objectives:
During this unprecedented time of COVID-19 pandemic, it was noticed a decline in cardiovascular cases presentation to the Emergency rooms in many countries, raising many speculations about the reasons and its ramifications. 1 - Identify the reasons during this pandemic that refrain patients from seeking medical care and its impact on stress level and medication adherence. 2 - Emphasize the new role of virtual medicine.
Methods:
A quantitative descriptive cross-section survey study of 388 patients. It has been done in the cardiac outpatient department and conducted virtually through telemedicine.
Results:
Despite this pandemic and its consensuses, the majority of cardiac outpatients will still seek medical advice in case of experiencing symptoms. Nevertheless, the fear of contracting COVID-19 infection, which can alter patient's decisions from visiting the emergency room and the increase in stress level during these challenging times, is genuine and no more an element of guessing.
Conclusion:
The majority of cardiac outpatients will wisely seek medical advice in case of serious cardiac symptoms and are adherent to their medications during this pandemic. Nevertheless, they face many concerns which need to implement a preventive and helping measures to fight the consensuses of COVID-19 such as, patient educations, establishing a hotline to all patients, telemedicine, new phone applications, and delivering medications to patients are essential in such circumstances to ensure continuity of care.
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