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As COVID-19 case levels plateau in some regions, 16 North American cardiovascular societies have released a framework for reintroducing cardiovascular services disrupted by the pandemic.
The consensus document outlines a phased approach to restarting invasive cardiovascular (CV) procedures and diagnostic tests that aims to reduce patient and healthcare provider exposure to the coronavirus and still provide essential care. It also emphasizes some of the ethical considerations in patient selection and the need for a collaborative approach.
"The key message in our document is we need a new unprecedented collaboration with public health officials so that we can carefully monitor the situation and we're aware of what's happening with the penetrance of the pandemic in the community, but they're aware of the morbidity and mortality that's occurring on our ever-growing waiting list," lead author David A. Wood, MD, told theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology.
The recommendations were jointly published May 4 in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology , the Journal of the American College of Cardiology , and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and are endorsed by, among others, the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology (ACC), and Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
