The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Division of Human Health aims to support member states to combat cardiovascular diseases, cancer, malnutrition and other diseases through the use of appropriate prevention, diagnostic testing and treatment. 12 13 It is therefore essential that the diagnosis and management of cardiac disease is optimised during the COVID-19 pandemic. 11 Furthermore, COVID-19 is itself potentially associated with myocardial injury, arrhythmia, and venous and arterial thrombosis. 6 Several studies have shown that during the March/April 2020 COVID-19 peak, there was a reduction in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndromes, 7–9 and an increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests 10 with excess cardiovascular mortality around the world.
We have recently shown in an international survey that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant reduction in cardiac imaging around the world, with a 64% reduction in cardiac imaging between March 2019 and April 2020. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, both guidelines 1–5 and local practices have changed. This paper focuses on the impact of the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cardiac disease in Europe compared with the rest of the world, in order to provide important learning opportunities for impending waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and for future pandemics.Įstablished guidelines have been developed which place non-invasive imaging at the centre of the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease. After China and some countries in Southeast Asia, Europe became the epicentre of COVID-19 in March 2020. Accurate diagnosis is central to the treatment of cardiac disease and delayed or missed diagnoses have the potential to impact long-term morbidity and mortality. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic disruption in healthcare provision around the world. Non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, remain the leading cause of mortality around the world.
16 Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust and King’s College London, London, UK.15 Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, London, UK.14 Department of Imaging, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK.13 Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
12 UOC Nuclear Medicine- Ospedale Cà Foncello, Treviso, Italy.11 Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.10 Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.9 National Medical Research Center of Cardiology of Healthcare Ministry, Moscow, Russian Federation.8 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation.7 Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez, Huelva, Spain.6 Department of Cardiovascular Imaging, Centro Cardiologico Monzino IRCCS, Milan, Italy.5 Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.4 MTA-SE Cardiovascular Imaging Research Group, Semmelweis University, Heart and Vascular Center, Budapest, Hungary.3 Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.2 Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.1 Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.On behalf of INCAPS COVID Investigators Group.
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