Delayed Presentation During COVID-19 Pandemic Leading to Post-Myocardial Infarction Ventricular Septal Defect

Post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect (post-MI VSD) is a rare complication of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with an incidence of <1% in early revascularization era. Here we present the case of a 66-year-old woman with post-MI VSD owing to delay in her presentation in the current pandemic. Patient presented with worsening back pain and chest pain with confusion, and an EKG positive for inferior wall STEMI. She underwent emergent percutaneous intervention with placement of drug-eluting stent in her right coronary artery. She developed worsening heart failure and new-onset heart murmur and was found to have a VSD on a transthoracic echo. Because of her poor prognosis, family decided to pursue comfort care and patient unfortunately passed. Delay in seeking health care during the pandemic, as seen in our patient, is multifactorial including fear of contracting infection, decreased emergency medical services members, and concerns for overburdening healthcare systems. Lack of standardized in-hospital approach to emergencies while ensuring adequate protection from infection to healthcare workers, especially during the initial phase of the pandemic, led to increased door-to-balloon times in addition to the increased time to first medical contact. The importance of media outreach ensuring availability of health care in emergencies, changing emergency response algorithms to ensure safety of patients and healthcare providers, and including thrombolytic therapy where there is a delay due to stringent screening or delayed COVID-19 testing can be used to prevent worsening complications following STEMI.