July 24, 2020 – Philadelphia area health systems say patients are beginning to return for visits, but critical stroke and cardiac cases are still low. These are emergency events that cannot be curtailed by a pandemic and it concerns hospitals.
Strokes and heart conditions must be treated quickly, or patients risk irreversible long-term damage and fewer treatment options. Doctors are concerned that a potential surge in COVID-19 cases in the fall could make matters worse.
Between March and May, heart attack patients were down 25% and stroke cases were down 14% at Penn Medicine compared to the same time last year.