Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the arrhythmic burden of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators

Background In Italy, a nationwide full lockdown was declared between March and May 2020 to hinder the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The potential individual health effects of long-term isolation are largely unknown. The current study investigated the arrhythmic consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown in patients with defibrillators (ICDs) living in the province of Ferrara, Italy. Methods Both the arrhythmias and the delivered ICD therapies as notified by the devices were prospectively collected during the lockdown period (P1) and compared to those occurred during the 10 weeks before the lockdown began (P2) and during the same period in 2019 (P3). Changes in outcome over the three study periods were evaluated for significance using McNemar's test. Results A total of 413 patients were included in the analysis. No differences were found concerning either arrhythmias or shocks or anti-tachycardia pacing. Only the number of patients experiencing non-sustained ventricular tachycardias (NSVTs) during P1 significantly decreased as compared to P2 (p = 0.026) and P3 (p = 0.009). The subgroup analysis showed a significant decrease in NSVTs during P1 for men (vs. P2, p = 0.014; vs. P3, p = 0.040) and younger patients (vs. P2, p = 0.002; vs. P3, p = 0.040) and for ischemic etiology (vs. P2, p = 0.003). No arrhythmic deaths occurred during P1. Conclusions The complete nationwide lockdown, as declared by the Italian government during the first COVID-19 pandemic peak, did not impact on the incidence of arrhythmias in an urban cohort of patients with ICDs.

Automated summary

The study found that the nationwide lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy did not have a significant impact on the incidence of arrhythmias in patients with defibrillators in Ferrara. However, there was a decrease in the number of patients experiencing non-sustained ventricular tachycardias during the lockdown period.