Impact of COVID-19-related public containment measures on the ST elevation myocardial infarction epidemic in Belgium: a nationwide, serial, cross-sectional study.

The current study assessed the impact of COVID-19-related public containment measures (i.e. lockdown) on the ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) epidemic in Belgium. Clinical characteristics, reperfusion therapy modalities, COVID-19 status and in-hospital mortality of consecutive STEMI patients who were admitted to Belgian hospitals for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were recorded during a three-week period starting at the beginning of the lockdown period on 13 March 2020. Similar data were collected for the same time period for 2017-2019. An evaluation of air quality revealed... Mehr ...