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Emergency department visits due to coronary artery disease during COVID-19 in Finland: A register-based study

Mikko Uimonen1, Ville Ponkilainen1, Ilari Kuitunen2,3

  • 1Department of Surgery, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Finland.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
|September 8, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic reduced cardiology referrals and acute coronary syndrome visits but increased emergency visits for chronic coronary artery disease in Finland. This highlights impacts on cardiovascular care access during health crises.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare services globally.
  • Understanding its impact on chronic disease management, such as coronary artery disease (CAD), is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of restricted healthcare availability during the COVID-19 pandemic on CAD treatment in Finland.
  • To analyze changes in cardiology referrals, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations for CAD.

Main Methods:

  • A multi-center study analyzing data from three Finnish hospitals (2017-2020).
  • Collected data included referrals (n=81,008), emergency department (ED) visits (n=10,001), and hospitalizations (n=8654) for CAD.
  • Incidences were calculated per 100,000 persons, comparing 2020 to the 2017-2019 reference period using incidence rate ratios (IRR).

Main Results:

  • Referrals to cardiology units decreased by 17% (IRR=0.83) from March to May 2020.
  • Emergency department visits for acute coronary syndrome decreased overall (2-14% lower annually).
  • Emergency department visits for chronic CAD significantly increased in April and May 2020 (IRR=1.49 and 1.57, respectively) and remained elevated, showing a 17% annual increase (IRR=1.17).

Conclusions:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic led to reduced cardiology referrals and acute coronary syndrome presentations.
  • A notable increase in emergency department visits for chronic CAD suggests delayed or altered care-seeking behaviors.
  • These findings underscore the significant impact of pandemic-related healthcare restrictions on the management of coronary artery disease.

Keywords:
COVID-19Coronary artery diseasehealth-care politicslockdownmanagement strategy

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