Cardiac calls & fatalities skyrocket

A massive jump in heart attacks and other cardiac calls is adding to first responders’ workloads as rattled New Yorkers try to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Daily cardiac calls have more than tripled in recent weeks, from 94 on March 20 to 322 on Sunday, FDNY statistics show. Compared with a year ago, the number of calls has more than quadrupled, from a maximum 73 calls per day, the data shows.

Cardiac-related deaths counted by the FDNY have also increased, from 45 on March 20 to an unprecedented 241 on Sunday. A year ago, the Fire Department counted about 25 cardiac deaths each day.

EMTs on the street are stunned by the sheer number of cardiac calls they have received in recent days.

“We are seeing a massive increase in call volume,” EMS Capt. Jing Kong told the Daily News. “It’s almost double to what we would have on a typical day.”

“I personally responded to six cardiac calls in a row the other night, and these are all serious and critical patients,” Kong said. “In one case the patient was on the phone, talking to us about minor symptoms, and five minutes later he was in the middle of a full cardiac episode.”

Some cardiac patients seen in the past few weeks had already been diagnosed with coronavirus, sources said.

In some cases, the virus caused the patient’s lungs to fill up with fluid, straining their hearts. Other cases may later be linked to the stress New Yorkers are undergoing as they shelter in place, worrying about their health, families and finances as the pandemic enters its second month.

“We have never seen cardiac numbers like this before COVID-19, so I think the surge speaks for itself,” said an FDNY source.