Key result
Cardiovascular patients show heightened pandemic fear, with non-significantly higher fear scores in older AMI patients.
Why the study?
The COVID-19 pandemic may have generated fear and adverse psychological consequences in AMI patients, potentially delaying hospital access.
Cross-Sectional (n=69)
No
Absolute Event Rate: 19% vs 16%
p-value: p=0.08
May warrant fear screening in older AMI patients during outbreaks; leaves open impact on care-seeking and outcomes.
A marked decline in myocardial infarction (AMI) hospitalizations was observed worldwide during the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic may have generated fear and adverse psychological consequences in these patients, delaying hospital access. The main objective of the study was to assess COVID fear through the FCV-19S questionnaire (a self-report measure of seven items) in 69 AMI patients (65 ± 11 years, mean ± SD; 59 males). Females presented higher values of each FCV-19S item than males. Older subjects (>57 years, 25th percentile) showed a higher total score with respect to those in the first quartile. The percentage of patients who responded "agree" and "strongly agree" in item 4 ("I am afraid of losing my life because of the coronavirus") and 3 ("My hands become clammy when I think about the coronavirus") was significantly greater in the elderly than in younger patients. When cardiovascular (CV) patients were compared to a previously published general Italian population, patients with CV disease exhibited higher values for items 3 and 4. Measures should be put in place to assist vulnerable and high CV risk patients, possibly adding psychologists to the cardiology team.
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Marotta et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Acute Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) (n=69). COVID-19 pandemic vs. Younger patients (≤57 years) or general population was evaluated on Total Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) score in older (>57 years) versus younger (≤57 years) STEMI patients (p=0.08). During the COVID-19 pandemic, cardiovascular patients exhibited higher emotional and symptomatic fear than the general population, with older AMI patients (>57 years) demonstrating a trend towards higher total fear scores (19 vs 16, p=0.08) compared to younger patients.
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