Although patients with cardiovascular disease face excess risks of severe illness with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), there may be indirect consequences of the pandemic on this high-risk ...patient segment.
This study sought to examine longitudinal trends in hospitalizations for acute cardiovascular conditions across a tertiary care health system.
Acute cardiovascular hospitalizations were tracked between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020. Daily hospitalization rates were estimated using negative binomial models. Temporal trends in hospitalization rates were compared across the first 3 months of 2020, with the first 3 months of 2019 as a reference.
From January 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, 6,083 patients experienced 7,187 hospitalizations for primary acute cardiovascular reasons. There were 43.4% (95% confidence interval CI: 27.4% to 56.0%) fewer estimated daily hospitalizations in March 2020 compared with March 2019 (p < 0.001). The daily rate of hospitalizations did not change throughout 2019 (–0.01% per day 95% CI: –0.04% to +0.02%; p = 0.50), January 2020 (–0.5% per day 95% CI: –1.6% to +0.5%; p = 0.31), or February 2020 (+0.7% per day 95% CI: –0.6% to +2.0%; p = 0.27). There was significant daily decline in hospitalizations in March 2020 (–5.9% per day 95% CI: –7.6% to –4.3%; p < 0.001). Length of stay was shorter (4.8 days 25th to 75th percentiles: 2.4 to 8.3 days vs. 6.0 days 25th to 75th percentiles: 3.1 to 9.6 days; p = 0.003) and in-hospital mortality was not significantly different (6.2% vs. 4.4%; p = 0.30) in March 2020 compared with March 2019.
During the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a marked decline in acute cardiovascular hospitalizations, and patients who were admitted had shorter lengths of stay. These data substantiate concerns that acute care of cardiovascular conditions may be delayed, deferred, or abbreviated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Purpose of Review
The purpose of this review it to summarize the current literature on remodeling after myocardial infarction, inclusive of pathophysiological considerations, imaging modalities, ...treatment strategies, and future directions.
Recent Findings
As patients continue to live longer after myocardial infarction (MI), the prevalence of post-MI heart failure continues to rise. Changes in the left ventricle (LV) after MI involve complex interactions between cellular and extracellular components, under neurohormonal regulation. Treatments to prevent adverse LV remodeling and promote reverse remodeling in the post-MI setting include early revascularization, pharmacotherapy aimed at neurohormonal blockade, and device-based therapies that address ventricular dyssynchrony.
Summary
Despite varying definitions of adverse LV remodeling examined across multiple imaging modalities, the presence of an enlarged LV cavity and/or reduced ejection fraction is consistently associated with poor clinical outcomes. Advances in our knowledge of the neurohormonal regulation of adverse cardiac remodeling have been instrumental in generating therapies aimed at arresting adverse remodeling and promoting reserve remodeling. Further investigation into other specific mechanisms of adverse LV remodeling and pathways to disrupt these mechanisms is ongoing and may provide incremental benefit to current evidence-based therapies.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ