Trends in acute myocardial infarction admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ankara, Turkey

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019 (1). The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020, pointing to the over 118.000 cases of the disease in over 110 countries and territories around the world. Currently, more than nine million laboratory-confirmed cases are reported worldwide, and the number of patients is dramatically increasing (2). Thus, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggested the postponement of elective cardiac procedures including percutaneous coronary interventions in all stable patients, to provide enhanced health care in COVID-19 patients (3). Because hospitalization and timely reperfusion is crucial in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), cardiology societies recommend invasive approaches and hospitalization in these patients during the COVID-19 era (4). However, prior reports show that there was a decline in the number of AMI admissions around the world (5-7). As it is unknown whether this decrease applies to Turkey, we sought to show the trends of AMI patient admission during the COVID-19 era.