Max Minute: New Study Details Surge In New York Cardiac Arrests During Peak COVID-19 Months
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — New York City is slowly recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, but it may continue to impact our health, specifically our hearts.
While COVID-19 continues to spread at a frightening speed across the South and West, doctors are learning that the disease causes damage throughout the body.
Severe inflammation and pneumonia, increased blood clotting, strokes, kidney and liver damage.
CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez has the latest information about a new study documenting the huge impact COVID-19 has had on heart attacks in New York City in his Max Minute report.
The study in JAMA Cardiology by researchers at Montefiore Health System found a startling surge in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and deaths.
During the peak of the pandemic in New York in March and April, the number of those cardiac arrests tripled compared to the same period in 2019. The mortality rate also spiked from 75% in 2019 to more than 90% in the same months in 2020.
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On average, the 2020 patients were older, more likely to be minorities and more likely to have high blood pressure and diabetes. Very few of the victims were tested for coronavirus, so doctors can't say the heart attacks were due to the virus or other underlying conditions.
But, Dr. David Prezants, a study author and the Chief Medical Officer at the FDNY says it's possible that some people may have died from delaying treatment for non-COVID-19 conditions during the pandemic.
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The study authors said this points to the critical need to provide better access to health care for vulnerable patients, especially during a pandemic. Telehealth and at-home monitoring of vital signs might help reduce out-of-hospital fatalities.
For the top questions people have been asking about the coronavirus, visit cbsnewyork.com/max, and go to facebook.com/cbsnewyork to submit your question.
