STEMI Patients in the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northeast Slovenia—A Retrospective, Single-Center Observational Study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients in most countries. We aimed to retrospectively assess the admissions, treatments, complications, and mortality of STEMI patients in the northeast of Slovenia during the first (March–May 2020) and second waves (October–December 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare them with data from 2019 (March–October). Comparing 2019 and both waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed nonsignificant differences in the number of STEMI admissions, baseline characteristics, use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within the first 3 (40.5%* vs. 38.7% vs. 25%*, *p = 0.074) or 6 h, TIMI III flow after primary PCI, and hospital complications, as well as significant increases in hospital heart failure (23.3% vs. 42%, p = 0.015) and mitral regurgitation in the second wave (10% vs. 26.9%, p = 0.008) of the pandemic and a nonsignificant increase in hospital mortality (8.9% vs. 9.4% vs. 13.6%) during both waves of the pandemic. We conclude that, due to the increased severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second wave, there were longer delays to primary PCI in STEMI patients, resulting in significantly increased hospital heart failure and non-significantly increased hospital mortality.