Cardiologists from the Clinical Department of Heart Diseases at Vienna General Hospital (AKH) and the Medical University (MedUni Vienna) point out that a drop in the number of patients with acute heart attacks can cause health risks of drastic proportions.
In Austria, an average of 26 percent fewer people have sought rapid assistance since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic. Moreover, a delay in heart attacks can also be seen in delayed hospitalization, which has almost tripled to an average of 1082 minutes. In addition, the death rate outside hospitals has increased.
Experts warn against ignoring heart attack symptoms, each of which can be different for women and men. They range from chest pain with pressure and tightness to back and upper abdominal pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, et cetera. At the first signs, medical consultation should not be shied away from, even because of fear of contracting the virus. The speed of help in the case of an acute heart attack also determines the effects of the therapeutic options, which are limited if one waits too long. Then the coronary arteries are more severely occluded and permanent damage to the heart is imminent or even death. Heart attacks are almost always signs of existing heart disease, of which the patient was usually unaware beforehand. Often, the different symptoms lead to misinterpretation of the symptoms, especially in patients who have never felt ill.
If a layperson has symptoms of a magnitude never experienced before, such as severe chest pain that can also radiate into the arm, he or she should act immediately and call 112. After admission to the hospital, a cardiac catheter examination is then performed with the opening of the coronary vessel in case of blockage and possible stent insertion. Unclear chest pain should not be ignored even during the pandemic.
Source: Heilpraxisnet