COVID-19 has impacted the primary management of cardiac conditions worldwide, decreasing the number of interventions for coronary diseases. Elective treatments and imaging have been largely cancelled across the world to allow better allocation of resources towards COVID-19 patients. However, the impact of such delays for cardiac patients could prove drastic. Although the number of hospital patients presenting with coronary symptoms during the outbreak have decreased internationally, it is now imperative that safety protocols be upheld and life preserving surgeries be provided where appropriate. In this review, we discuss how COVID-19 has affected primary cardiac intervention globally, how services have been adapted to taking precautionary measures, and how morbidity rates can be reduced by introducing scoring systems and telemedicine. (www.actabiomedica.it)
COVID-19 and its impact on cardiology service