Trends in Clinical Presentation, Management, and Outcomes of STEMI in Patients With COVID-19

BACKGROUND We previously reported high in-hospital mortality for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with COVID-19 treated in the early phase of the pandemic. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to describe trends of COVID-19 patients with STEMI during the course of the pandemic. METHODS The NACMI (North American COVID-19 STEMI) registry is a prospective, investigator-initiated, multicenter, observational registry of hospitalized STEMI patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection in North America. We compared trends in clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients treated in the first year of the pandemic (January 2020 to December 2020) vs those treated in the second year (January 2021 to December 2021). RESULTS A total of 586 COVID-19-positive patients with STEMI were included in the present analysis; 227 treated in Y2020 and 359 treated in Y2021. Patients' characteristics changed over time. Relative to Y2020, the proportion of Caucasian patients was higher (58% vs 39%; P < 0.001), patients presented more frequently with typical ischemic symptoms (59% vs 51%; P = 0.04), and patients were less likely to have shock pre-PCI (13% vs 18%; P = 0.07) or pulmonary manifestations (33% vs. 47%; P = 0.001) in Y2021. In-hospital mortality decreased from 33% (Y2020) to 23% (Y2021) (P = 0.008). In Y2021, none of the 22 vaccinated patients expired in hospital, whereas in-hospital death was recorded in 37 (22%) unvaccinated patients (P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS Significant changes have occurred in the clinical characteristics and outcomes of STEMI patients with COVID-19 infection during the course of the pandemic. (C) 2022 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Automated summary

During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been significant changes in the clinical characteristics and outcomes of STEMI patients with COVID-19 infection. As the pandemic progressed, there was an increase in the proportion of Caucasian patients, patients presented with more typical symptoms, and there was an improvement in treatment outcomes and a decrease in in-hospital mortality. Vaccination played a positive role in reducing mortality among hospitalized patients.