Name: Coronavirus Australia: Heart attack patients risk lives by delaying hospital treatment
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Coronavirus Australia: Heart attack patients risk lives by delaying hospital treatment

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'Huge concern:' Heart attack patients risk lives by delaying hospital treatmentWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementSome Victorians with heart attack symptoms waited more than 12 hours before seeking potentially life saving hospital treatment during the first COVID-19 lockdown in a dangerous trend doctors fear could cost lives during the current surge in infections.New research from the University of Melbourne and Austin Health, published in the , found Victorian patients with severe chest pain were waiting four times longer on average to seek medical treatment amid fears of overburdening the health system or catching the virus in hospital.As part of the study, researchers examined the behaviour of more than 120 patients who had suffered heart attacks before presenting at the Austin Hospital over a four-week period when the state's first lockdown came into effect in March.They then compared this data to the same period over the past seven years, finding patients with heart attacks were staying at home six or more hours longer before presenting to hospital.About one in two patients presented more than 12 hours following symptom onset, a figure which is normally around 13 per cent of patients, researchers said.Patients with chest pain typically present in hospital between two and fours hours after symptoms appear."We saw very significant drop in heart attack patients during the first wave of infections because people were staying at home for much longer," one of the study's researchers and Austin Health cardiologist Matias Yudi, said."This a is huge concern for us as we experience another lockdown. Every minute counts with a heart attack so a 12 hour delay is quite a scary prospect."AdvertisementTypically on an ordinary weekend the Austin Hospital doctors will treat roughly up to five heart attack patients, but on the weekend that just passed there were none.Head of trauma anaesthesia at The Alfred hospital, Associate Professor John Moloney, said during the first wave of infections emergency presentations were down by more than 50 per cent – a trend reflected in all hospitals across Australia as frontline workers geared up for a potential influx of critically ill coronavirus patients.Cancer referrals at Australia's leading oncology centres also plummeted by up to 30 per cent in April, fuelling concerns seriously ill people may be going undiagnosed.Despite the second surge of infections, The Alfred's emergency department has remained busy in recent weeks, but Professor Moloney said two cases in the last ten days had concerned him.In one case, a man suffered chest pain on and off for weeks but did not seek hospital treatment and later died at home.In another incident, Professor Moloney said a woman was rushed to hospital for an emergency caesarean after changing her birth plan from hospital to home birth in the late stages of her pregnancy amid fear of contracting COVID-19."When people are making changes to a potential plan or delaying medical treatment that brings with it significant risks," said Professor Moloney, who has expertise in disaster response and emergency medicine."The message we really need to get out to the public is that we have the capacity to look after sick people and if a person needs acute healthcare we are here to treat them."Dr Yudi said the health implications for the patients who delayed treatment for a heart attack may not be known for years.He also feared there were more hidden patients who had avoided emergency medical treatment entirely."We don't yet just how many patients may have never presented at hospital or potentially died after having heart attacks," Dr Yudi said."Then there are those who have delayed treatment for months and months. Only down the track will we find out the full consequences of this."Dr Yudi said people who delayed emergency treatment for heart attacks were at risk of complications stemming from heart failure such as weakened heart muscles, fluid build up in lungs and a decreased lifespan."When you have a heart attack one of the arteries in your heart is completely blocked so the heart isn’t getting any blood or any oxygen so the longer you wait the more of the heart muscle that dies," he said.Researchers are continuing the study for the second surge of infections and broadening it out to stroke patients."In the first stage of the research of the research we only examined a small number of patients so we want to broaden this out and continue track it," Dr Yudi said.He urged anyone experiencing chest pain to seek emergency treatment."The very simple message here is that patients need to come to hospital as soon as possible if they have symptoms suggestive of a heart attack," Dr Yudi said."There is a sense that hospitals aren’t safe, but delaying treatment is far more dangerous. We are taking every precaution with our patients so the risk of getting infected with coronavirus in hospital is extremely small. "Cabrini Hospital director of emergency medicine Michael Ben-Meir, said he had recently begun to notice a drop-off in presentations again, following the dip observed in the first flurry of cases in Melbourne earlier this year."It's not quite feeling as quiet as it was in April," he said. "But … normally in the middle of winter, this is boom time. This is peak time. And we are nowhere near peak numbers.He urged people not to delay medical treatment."The last thing we want is [people having] strokes and heart attacks, and minor illnesses turning into a major one," he said.Get our Coronavirus Update newsletter for the day's crucial developments and the numbers you need to know. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Herald's newsletter and The Age's .Log in, or to save articles for later. is The Age's health reporter. is health editor with The Age and a former city reporter.Advertisement

'Huge concern:' Heart attack patients risk lives by delaying hospital treatmentWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementSome Victorians with heart attack symptoms waited more than 12 hours before seeking potentially life saving hospital treatment during the first COVID-19 lockdown in a dangerous trend doctors fear could cost lives during the current surge in infections.New research from the...

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