Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cardiometabolic patients without SARS CoV-2 infection in Latin America

A cross-sectional survey including 38 questions about demography, clinical condition, changes in health habits, and medical treatments for cardiometabolic patients in outpatient follow-up was conducted. From June 15 to July 15, 2020, a total of 13 Latin-American countries participated in enrolling patients. These countries were divided into 3 geographic regions: Region 1 including North, Central, and Caribbean Regions (NCCR), Region 2 including the Andean Region (AR), and Region 3 including the Southern Cone Region (SCR). 4.216 patients were analyzed, resulting in a coefficient of 33.82%, 32.23%, and 33.94% for NCCR, AR, and SCR, respectively. Significant differences were found between the AR, SCR, and NCCR regions. The analysis of habitual medication usage showed that discontinued use of medication was more present in AR, reaching almost 30% (p < 0.001). The main finding of this study was the negative impact that restrictive measures have on adherence to medications and physical activity: Rs = 0.84 (p = 0.0003) and Rs = 0.61 (p = 0.0032), respectively. AR was the most vulnerable region. Restrictive quarantine measures imposed by the different countries showed a positive correlation with medication discontinuation and a negative correlation with physical activity levels in patients analyzed. These findings characterize the impact of the consequences left by this pandemic. Undoubtedly, restrictive measures have been and will continue to have reverberating negative effects in most Latin-American countries.Fil: Camiletti, Jorge. Hospital Italiano de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Renna, Nicolas Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Cátedra de Fisiología Patológica; Argentina. Hospital Español de Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: López Santi, Ricardo. Hospital Italiano de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Erriest, Juan. Hospital Italiano de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: García-Bello, Eliomar. Centro de Diagnóstico Medicina Avanzada y Telemedicina; República DominicanaFil: Araujo, John. Centro Cardiovascular Somer Incare; ColombiaFil: Varleta-Olivares, Paola. Hospital Dipreca; ChileFil: Gómez-Díaz, Eduardo. Hospital Metropolitano del Norte; VenezuelaFil: Ramírez, Gisselle. Medicina Cardiovascular Asociada; República DominicanaFil: Berni Betancourt, Ana. Sociedad interamericana de Cardiología; México. Consejo Interamericano de Electrocardiográfica y Arritmias; México. Hospital Ángeles Pedregal; MéxicoFil: Escalada Lesme, Gustavo. Centro Médico Nacional-Hospital Nacional Itaguá; ParaguayFil: Campos Alcántara, Lourdes V.. Consultorio de Lourdes Victoria Campos Alcántara; PerúFil: Moya Loor, Leonardo. Hospital Santa Margarita; EcuadorFil: Rey Benavente, Claudio. Hospital Arroyabe Pichanal; ArgentinaFil: Almonte, Claudia. Medicina Cardiovascular Asociada; República DominicanaFil: Cortez Sandoval, Maicol. Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliti Martins; PerúFil: Alvarado Cuadros, María. Department of Cardiology, Institution; EcuadorFil: Rosario, Monica I.. Centro de Diagnóstico Medicina Avanzada y Telemedicina; República DominicanaFil: Gupta, Shyla. Queen’s University; CanadáFil: Ibarrola, Martin. Cardiovascular Center BV; ArgentinaFil: Baranchuk, Adrián. Kingston Health Sciences Centre; Canad

Toward a Better Understanding of Cardiovascular Risk in the Transgender and Gender-Diverse Community: A Global Call to Action

On World Heart Day 2022, the Mexican Society of Cardiology, the Inter-American Society of Cardiology, and the World Heart Federation collaborated on a public call to action regarding the increased risk of adverse cardiovascular health outcomes in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals. The aim of this article is to unpack the numerous factors that contribute to this, such as the social stigma faced by members of the TGD community, their reduced access to clinical care, and the scarcity of research regarding the unique needs of their community, which makes it difficult for clinicians to provide individualized medical care. Decreasing the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events among TGD individuals requires interventions such as educational reform in the medical community, an increase in inclusive research studies, and broader social initiatives intended to reduce the stigma faced by TGD individuals