ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has been associated with cardiovascular events. This case demonstrates severe left main coronary artery thrombosis with distal embolisation in a young male patient admitted with COVID-19 who developed ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The patient was treated with thrombus aspiration combined with aggressive anticoagulant treatment, which yielded complete resolution of the thrombus. Left main thrombus represents a life-threatening coronary event and is most often associated with atherosclerotic plaque rupture. In this case, however, we suspect that COVID-19-related intimal inflammation and hypercoagulopathy might be the causal mechanism of thrombus formation. Revascularisation with coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention is the standard treatment of left main thrombosis. However, due to the patient's young age and lack of significant atherosclerotic disease burden, we used a conservative medical treatment strategy using potent antithrombotic therapy.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Coronary Thrombosis , ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction , COVID-19/complications , Conservative Treatment , Coronary Thrombosis/complications , Coronary Thrombosis/diagnostic imaging , Coronary Thrombosis/therapy , Coronary Vessels/diagnostic imaging , Coronary Vessels/surgery , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We evaluated whether the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) pandemic was associated with changes in the pattern of acute cardiovascular admissions across European centers. METHODS: We set-up a multicenter, multinational, pan-European observational registry in 15 centers from 12 countries. All consecutive acute admissions to emergency departments and cardiology departments throughout a 1-month period during the COVID-19 outbreak were compared with an equivalent 1-month period in 2019. The acute admissions to cardiology departments were classified into 5 major categories: acute coronary syndrome, acute heart failure, arrhythmia, pulmonary embolism, and other. RESULTS: Data from 54,331 patients were collected and analyzed. Nine centers provided data on acute admissions to emergency departments comprising 50,384 patients: 20,226 in 2020 compared with 30,158 in 2019 (incidence rate ratio [IRR] with 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 0.66 [0.58-0.76]). The risk of death at the emergency departments was higher in 2020 compared to 2019 (odds ratio [OR] with 95% CI: 4.1 [3.0-5.8], P < 0.0001). All 15 centers provided data on acute cardiology departments admissions: 3007 patients in 2020 and 4452 in 2019; IRR (95% CI): 0.68 (0.64-0.71). In 2020, there were fewer admissions with IRR (95% CI): acute coronary syndrome: 0.68 (0.63-0.73); acute heart failure: 0.65 (0.58-0.74); arrhythmia: 0.66 (0.60-0.72); and other: 0.68(0.62-0.76). We found a relatively higher percentage of pulmonary embolism admissions in 2020: odds ratio (95% CI): 1.5 (1.1-2.1), Pâ¯=â¯0.02. Among patients with acute coronary syndrome, there were fewer admissions with unstable angina: 0.79 (0.66-0.94); non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction: 0.56 (0.50-0.64); and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: 0.78 (0.68-0.89). CONCLUSION: In the European centers during the COVID-19 outbreak, there were fewer acute cardiovascular admissions. Also, fewer patients were admitted to the emergency departments with 4 times higher death risk at the emergency departments.