ER visits for heart attacks, other ailments decline sharply
Report says COVID-19 fears early in pandemic affected health decisions
As the coronavirus swept the country, emergency room doctors across the Bay Area and beyond made the same alarming observation: they weren’t seeing nearly as many patients suffering from heart attacks and other lifethreatening maladies.
Now, there’s evidence to support the trend. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, visits to emergency departments declined significantly for heart attacks, strokes and uncontrolled high blood sugar. In the 10 weeks after the U.S. declared a COVID-19 national emergency in March, visits for heart attacks declined 23% compared with the 10 weeks leading up to the crisis. Visits for strokes dropped 20% and visits for uncontrolled high blood sugar fell 10%.
It’s unclear what caused the fall off in visits. But according to the CDC, it’s “biologically implausible” that fewer people suffered heart attacks and strokes. Instead, the agency points to fear of exposure to the coronavirus, people taking recommendations from public health officials to hold off on non-urgent health care too far and stay-home orders as possible explanations.
In other words, people were still having heart attacks but not going to the emergency room. Some of those people likely died as a result, which might help explain the higher-than-typical number of deaths some places have reported. From New York to Michigan, reports of at-home deaths have risen during the pandemic. While some of those deaths might be directly related to a person contracting the coronavirus, health officials have also said it’s likely some people are perishing at home from other medical emergencies.
The CDC said people “experiencing severe chest pain, sudden or partial loss of motor function, altered mental status, signs of extreme hyperglycemia or other lifethreatening issues should call 911, irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The agency called on public health officials and health care workers to help get out the message and reassure patients that hospitals and clinics are taking steps like temperature screenings and deep cleanings to keep visitors and employees safe.