Pandemic-Linked Drop in Cardiac Testing Recovered in United States
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 27, 2023 -- In the United States and non-U.S. high-income countries, the reductions in cardiac testing seen in the early COVID-19 pandemic recovered by 2021, according to a study published online Sept. 21 in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
Cole B. Hirschfeld, M.D., from Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and colleagues collected data from 669 facilities in 107 countries, including 93 facilities in 34 U.S. states to examine the impact of the pandemic on diagnostic cardiovascular procedure volumes. For each diagnostic imaging modality, participants reported volumes used at their facility for March 2019 (baseline), April 2020, and April 2021.
The researchers found that U.S. and non-U.S. facilities had similar reductions in procedure volumes in April 2020 versus baseline (−66 and −71 percent, respectively). Compared with non-U.S. facilities, U.S. facilities reported greater return to baseline in April 2021 (4 versus −6 percent), but no difference was seen when comparing U.S. facilities with non-U.S. high-income country facilities (4 versus 0 percent). There were U.S. regional differences in return to baseline between the Midwest, Northeast, South, and West (11, 9, 1, and −7 percent, respectively), but none of the factors studied significantly predicted 2021 change from prepandemic baseline.
"To address potential excess morbidity and mortality rates from cardiovascular disease in economically disadvantaged regions, a multifaceted approach is necessary, which may include strategies such as increasing telehealth infrastructure, leveraging mobile clinics, and improving health care worker training to augment recovery of cardiovascular diagnostic procedures," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to industry.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2023
Further Support and Information on COVID-19
Read this next
Implantable Continuous Flow Device Feasible for Small Children With Severe Systolic Heart Failure
FRIDAY, May 10, 2024 -- The Jarvik 2015 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) seems promising as an implantable continuous flow device for small children with severe systolic...
Clinical Practice Guideline Developed for Age-Related Hearing Loss
FRIDAY, May 10, 2024 -- In a clinical practice guideline issued by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation and published online April 30 in...
Large Language Models Fall Short in Breast Imaging Classification
FRIDAY, May 10, 2024 -- Large language models (LLMs) appear to fall short in classification of breast imaging, which can have a negative impact on clinical management, according...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.