News: COVID-positive STEMI patients represent a high-risk group

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients who are COVID-19 positive “represent a high-risk group of patients with unique demographic and clinical characteristics,” according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Out of a study of 1,185 patients from the North American COVID-19 and STEMI (NACMI) registry, 230 were COVID-19 positive, 495 were persons under investigation (PUI), and 460 were control patients. COVID-19 positive patients were more likely to be a minority ethnicity with 23% Hispanic and 24% Black, as well as have a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (46%).

The study found that while COVID-19 positive patients were more likely to present with cardiogenic shock (18%), they were less likely to receive invasive angiography than control patients. Among the COVID-19 positive patients who received angiography, 71% received primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) and 20% received medical therapy.

The primary outcome—a composite of in-hospital death, stroke, recurrent MI, or repeat unplanned revascularization—occurred in 36% of COVID-19 positive patients in the study, 13% of PUIs, and 5% of control patients.

The study concludes that COVID-19 positive patients with STEMI represent a high-risk group, but also that PPCI is feasible and remains the predominant reperfusion strategy.

Editor’s note: The Journal of the American College of Cardiology published study can be found here. Other ACDIS coverage of COVID-19 news stories can be found here.