COVID SCIENCE UPDATES

Heart attack treatment has slowed during pandemic - study

The average time from when a heart attack starts to when treatment begins has gotten longer during the pandemic, and researchers attribute most of the delay to patients' fears of contracting COVID-19 if they go to a hospital.

In a study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, doctors in China found the average time from symptom onset to first contact with a healthcare provider was about an hour longer in January to April 2020 than during the same period in 2019.

And this year, after arrival at the hospital, the time until a blocked artery was reopened was 22 minutes longer - and more heart attack patients died, the authors say.

Coauthor Dr. Ming-Wei Wang from Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University told Reuters patients need to understand the importance of getting to a hospital quickly, and COVID-19 screening at hospitals should be hastened for patients with chest pain.

Dr. Aditya Kapoor from India's Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, who was not involved in the study, said other studies have found similar delays.

"Resource and manpower allocation to COVID-19 treatment, lockdown restrictions, and patient apprehensions related to hospital visits all play an important role," he said. -- Reuters