Medical Minute: Heart Patients Delaying Necessary Care During COVID-19

COVID-19 remains prevalent both locally and nationally and one of the unanticipated impacts of the virus has been that people with heart attack symptoms are delaying necessary and sometimes life-saving care.

Since COVID-19 took off nationally this spring, the number of heart attacks treated in hospitals dropped some thirty percent. And while that number seems encouraging, the reality is that a large number of patients have simply ignored heart attack symptoms and are now coming to the hospital much sicker, require a greater level of intervention and have a longer road to recovery. 

In this Medical Minute, Marcus Thorpe talks with OhioHealth Cardiologist Dr. Michael Jolly about this phenomenon and the safety measures hospitals are taking to keep all patients safe. Dr. Jolly also encourages everyone to call their physician or go to the emergency department if you're experience signs of a heart attack which can include the following:

• Pain or tightness in their chest, arm, shoulder or jaw
• Dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, clammy skin and sweating
• Heartburn, indigestion, nausea or vomiting
• Anxiety, chest pressure, feeling of impending doom, shortness of breath