It’s hard to think of little else as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world – but we can’t ignore the indirect burden the pandemic places on people with other medical conditions, like cardiovascular disease.
A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that “the COVID-19 pandemic is taking an indirect toll on patients with cardiovascular disease,” leading to an increase in deaths. For example, there were 5.5 times more out-of-hospital heart attacks that resulted in death in New York City during the COVID pandemic than in the years before the pandemic.
Why would cardiovascular deaths increase during the pandemic?
During the pandemic’s peak in 2020, there was a 58% reduction in the number of people showing up to the hospital with heart attack symptoms. In a nutshell, people were afraid to seek medical care for their symptoms so, they stayed home, and many died.
Stay ‘In the Know’ about heart health!
February is American Heart Month! It’s the perfect time to brush up on your heart health awareness with The Heart Smart Caregiver Challenge!
The Facts
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. About half of all Americans have at least one of these three risk factors. So, the chances are good that your Caregivers encounter clients with heart disease (or the risk for it) regularly.
Are your caregivers prepared to handle the challenges that go along with caring for someone with CHF, CAD, Heart Attack, and Stroke?
Take the Heart Smart Caregiver Challenge
Now you can find out! Download the Heart Smart Caregiver Challenge to test your teams’ knowledge of keys facts about heart disease.
In it, you’ll find:
- A thought-provoking quiz,
- A summary of the warning signs of a heart attack,
- Heart-healthy eating tips, and
- Suggestions on how clients can be more active.
Download the FREE Heart Smart Caregiver Challenge today! Then, distribute it to your Caregivers to measure their knowledge of caring for clients with these common conditions.
The post What’s One Indirect Burden the Pandemic Placed on People with Heart Disease? appeared first on In The Know Caregiver Training.
