Decline in acute coronary syndrome hospitalisation rates during COVID-19 lockdown in private hospitals in South Africa

We conducted a study of admission rates of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in all Mediclinic hospitals in South Africa. The aim of the study was to quantify the extent of change in admission rates of ACS subtypes and to establish the degree of change in subtype proportions in the private sector assumed to be related to COVID-19 and/or lockdown implementation. Time intervals were demarcated by lockdown measures (March: pre-lockdown versus April: post-lockdown implementation), and comparisons were performed with equitable time periods (2019 versus 2020). For the comparison of proportions, data for April and May were summated

Decline in acute coronary syndrome hospitalisation rates during COVID-19 lockdown in private hospitals in South Africa

Cardiovascular presentation of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus- 2 (SARS-CoV-2), referred to as “COVID-19”, can be complex with varying presentations of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), stress cardiomyopathy, non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, coronary spasm or non-specific myocardial injury. Concern has been expressed worldwide regarding the failure of patients with emergent ACS to access healthcare during the SARS-coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, which was declared to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 14 March 2020. The first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in South Africa on 5 March 2020. On 15 March 2020, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, and coronavirus alert level 5 lockdown regulations were applied to reduce the transmission of the virus from 27 March. Alert level 4 lockdown regulations were then made applicable from 1 May 2020. A marked decrease in the volume of patients presenting with ACS was observed during lockdown in April 2020 by one of the three major private hospital groups in South Africa.http://www.saheart.org/journalhj2021Family Medicin