The number of people in London who are suffering from cardiac arrest increased by 40 percent at the peak of the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic because of the fears of seeking hospital care, doctors have disclosed.
Huon Gray, the clinical director of the London cardiac clinical network of the NHS England mentioned in a Royal Society of Medicine seminar that there had been a fall in the number of people suffering the most serious heart attacks taken to specialist heart attack centers between March and May.
He stated that around the same percentage increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests was witnessed over the same period. "The presumption is that patients were failing to call for help," he claimed. Patients might have delayed seeking help for heart attack, which can lead to a cardiac arrest. The doctors have to witness around 10,000 cases a year in London out of which 400 can be saved.
Cardiac Arrest Percentage Increase During Pandemic
The managing director of the St Bartholomew's hospital, Professor Charles Knight stated that the patients had been caught "between a rock and a hard place" in getting afraid that they will contract coronavirus if they are taken to a hospital, as reported by the Evening Standard. He mentioned, "I don't think one can blame patients for not wanting to come in, but that, particularly with heart patients, can have very tragic results."
The chief of surgery at St Bartholomew's hospital, Stephen Edmondson, claimed that in 600 cardiac operations that were carried out in the lockdown phase, no patient contracted the coronavirus. He stated that 1,500 people from London are on the waiting list for heart surgery, and one out of five people offered surgery refused due to the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a major stir around the world in recent times affecting the global economy. More than 19.1 million people have got infected whereas over 715,000 people have lost their lives due to the outbreak. An effective vaccine is expected by the first quarter of 2021.
