Did COVID-19 Pandemic Increase Mechanical Complications of ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction? Are We Returning Back to Pre-Thrombolytic Era?

Abstract

The coronavirus 19 pandemic causes heavy strain on the healthcare systems of countries worldwide. During the pandemic, fear of contracting the infection made the patients with cardiovascular complaints refrain from hospital admittance. This resulted in severe mechanical complications of myocardial infarction. In our hospital we had two ventricular septal ruptures (VSR) as a complication of late admitted inferior myocardial infarction. Having two VSR cases within three days was unusual for us due to the decreased incidence of VSR in the primary PCI era. However, two cases is not enough to reach the conclusion that mechanical complications of myocardial infarction increased during the pandemic, similar case reports from different countries and statements of senior interventional cardiologists support this assertion