• Giuseppe Di Pasquale, Rossana De Palma, Daniela Fortuna, Elena Berti, Gianluca Campo, and Gianni Casella.
• Direzione Sanitaria, Azienda USL di Bologna.
• G Ital Cardiol (Rome). 2021 Mar 1; 22 (3): 188-192.

AbstractThe dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic extends beyond the risk of deaths related to virus infection. Excess deaths from other causes, particularly cardiovascular deaths, have been reported worldwide. Our study based on administrative databases of the Emilia-Romagna region demonstrates a 17% excess of out-of-hospital cardiac deaths in the first 2020 semester with a peak of +62% on April. The excess of cardiac deaths may be explained by the indirect consequences of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include a dramatic reduction of hospital admissions during the pandemic, particularly for acute coronary syndromes; an increase of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests; a reduction of outpatient clinic activities and cardiac procedures; long-term cardiovascular effects of COVID-19; and unfavorable cardiac effects of the lockdown imposed by the spread of COVID-19 infection. The knowledge of the indirect consequences of COVID-19 pandemic is important for planning cardiologic strategies.

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