Lasting Decline in Hospital Use for Myocardial Infarction and Stroke During 2020

For unclear reasons, hospital encounters for these indications did not fully rebound by the end of 2020 among Medicare beneficiaries.

Reductions in hospitalizations for acute coronary diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic are widely documented (NEJM JW Cardiol Sep 2020 and Lancet 2020; 396:381). To examine this trend in Medicare beneficiaries, investigators used fee-for-service claims data to evaluate hospital use for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke during March to December 2020, comparing weekly rates with averages for 2018 and 2019.

Hospital use (hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and observation stays) for AMI and stroke declined sharply (peak decline, 39%) between mid-March and early April. After recovering partially by June 2020, they remained 12% lower on average than in 2018 and 2019 through the end of the year. Declines were larger for Med…

Reviewing Author

Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD, FACC

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBoehringer Ingelheim; Amgen; Novartis; Lilly; Amarin

Speaker’s BureauBoehringer Ingelheim

Grant/Research SupportNIH

Editorial BoardsCirculation (Associate Editor)