TY - JOUR
AU - Cerci, Rodrigo
AU - Vitola , Joao V.
AU - Paez, Diana
AU - Marcio Sommer Bittencourt
AU - Lilia M. Sierra-Galan
AU - Patricia Carrascosa
AU - Roxana Campisi
AU - Claudia Gutierrez-Villamil
AU - Amalia Peix
AU - Duane Chambers
AU - Mayra Sánches Velez
AU - Carla M. G. Alvarado
AU - Ana C. F. Ventura
AU - Alejandro Maldonado
AU - Alfredo P. Castanos
AU - Cole Hirschfeld
AU - Michael Randazzo
AU - Michelle C. Williams
PY - 2021
DA - December
TI - COVID-19’s Impact on the Diagnosis of Heart Disease in Latin America An INCAPS COVID Sub analysis
JO - Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia
EP - 753
VL - 118
IS - 4
DO - https://doi.org/10.36660/abc.20210388
AB - Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the delivery of care for cardiovascular diseases in Latin America. However, the effect of the pandemic on the diagnostic cardiac procedure volumes has not been quantified. Objective: To assess (1) the COVID-19’s impact on Latin America cardiac diagnostic volumes and (2) determine its relationship with COVID-19 case incidence, and with social distancing measures.Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing changes in cardiac diagnostic volumes resulting from COVID-19. Cardiac iagnostic volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared to March 2019. Social distancing data were collected from Google COVID-19 community mobility reports and COVID-19 incidence per country from the Our World in Data.Results: Surveys were submitted from 194 centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 19 Latin American countries. Procedure volumes decreased 36% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 82% from March 2019 to April 2020. The greatest decreases occurred in echocardiogram stress tests (91%), exercise treadmill tests (88%) and CT calcium scores (87%) with slight variations between Latin American sub-regions. Changes in social distancing patterns (p&lt;0.001) were more strongly associated with volume reduction than COVID-19 incidence (p=0.003). Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with a significant reduction in cardiac diagnostic procedures in Latin America, more related to social distancing than to the COVID-19 incidence. A better balance and timing of social distancing measures and planning to maintain access to medical care is warranted during a pandemic surge, especially in high cardiovascular mortality regions.
PB - SciELO 
UR - https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/f9fbdc6a-f5d5-40a9-b2dc-d5f57bebe4b2
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER