CJC Open (2020) Botly

COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Impact and Potential Implications for Cardiovascular Disease in Canada.

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Authors Leigh C P. Botly(1), Michelle Martin-Rhee(1), Adrienne Kasiban(1), Richard H. Swartz(2), Sharon L. Mulvagh(3), M Patrice Lindsay(1), Cristina Goia(1), Eric E. Smith(4), Michael D. Hill(4), Thalia S. Field(5), Andrew D. Krahn(6), Gavin Y. Oudit(7), Shelley Zieroth(8), Cindy Y Y. Yip(1) Affiliations (1) Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (2) Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (3) Division of Cardiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester Minnesota, USA. (4) Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (5) Vancouver Stroke Program, Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (6) Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, Division of Cardiology, University of British Columbia, and St Paul's and Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (7) Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, and Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (8) University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In CJC open, (2020) On line

Abstract

Background

The literature indicates that cardiovascular disease (CVD; including stroke), older age, and availability of health care resources affect COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFRs). The cumulative effect of COVID-19 CFRs in global CVD populations and the extrapolated effect on access to health care services in the CVD population in Canada are not fully known. In this study we explored the relationships of factors that might affect COVID-19 CFRs and estimated the potential indirect effects of COVID-19 on Canadian health care resources.

Methods

Country-level epidemiological data were analyzed to study the correlation, main effect, and interaction between COVID-19 CFRs and: (1) the proportion of the population with CVD; (2) the proportion of the population 65 years of age or older; and (3) the availability of essential health services as defined by the World Health Organization Universal Health Coverage index. For indirect implications on health care resources, estimates of the volume of postponed coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, and valve surgeries in Ontario were calculated.

Results

Positive correlations were found between COVID-19 CFRs and: (1) the proportion of the population with CVD (ρ = 0.40;

Conclusions

Countries with more prevalent CVD reported higher COVID-19 CFRs. Strain on health care resources is likely in Canada.

© 2020 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc.

See also

External links

• Link toward PubMed