• Marta Jiménez-Blanco Bravo, David Cordero Pereda, Diego Sánchez Vega, Susana Del Prado Díaz, Juan Manuel Monteagudo Ruiz, José Luis Zamorano Gómez, and Gonzalo Luis Alonso Salinas.
• Heart Failure Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
• Cardiology. 2020 Jan 1; 145 (8): 481-484.

BackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a new threat to healthcare systems. In this setting, heart failure units have faced an enormous challenge: taking care of their patients while at the same time avoiding patients' visits to the hospital.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the results of a follow-up protocol established in an advanced heart failure unit at a single center in Spain during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsDuring March and April 2020, a protocolized approach was implemented in our unit to reduce the number of outpatient visits and hospital admissions throughout the maximum COVID-19 spread period. We compared emergency room (ER) visits, hospital admissions, and mortality with those of January and February 2020.ResultsWhen compared to the preceding months, during the COVID pandemic there was a 56.5% reduction in the ER visits and a 46.9% reduction in hospital admissions, without an increase in mortality (9 patients died in both time periods). A total of 18 patients required a visit to the outpatient clinic for decompensation of heart failure or others.ConclusionOur study suggests that implementing an active-surveillance protocol in acutely decompensated heart failure units during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic can reduce hospital admissions, ER visits and, potentially, viral transmission, in a cohort of especially vulnerable patients.© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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