The impact of social withdrawal on the COVID-19 pandemic in the care of cardiac patients in a University Hospital of the SUS-Brazil

Introduction: Social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic has led to changes in habits, sedentary lifestyles, stress, poor diet and late medical care, favoring the development or worsening of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Objectives: To verify possible changes in the number of consultations, daily hospitalizations and days of hospitalization, as well as in cardiac health care, diagnoses of new cases of CVD and to identify heart diseases with changes in incidence. Methods: 214 medical records of patients with CVD seen at a University Hospital from March 2019 to February 2020 (before the pandemic) and from March 2020 to February 2021 (during the pandemic) were analysed. Data regarding number of consultations, daily hospitalizations, hospitalization days, personal pathological history, and diagnoses were interpreted. Results: The average number of consultations showed a decrease from 0.83 to 0.61 consultations per patient, thus indicating a significant reduction of 26.50 % (p<0.03). There was also a significant reduction of 27.11 % in the total number of consultations for the cardiology outpatient clinic between the periods before and during the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, the number of daily hospitalisations (0.60 x 0.55/day) and number of hospitalisation days (2.63 x 2.54 days) respectively, did not change between the same periods. Conclusion: The results highlight the concern about delayed or minimized medical care during the pandemic. It is essential to warn patients about the risks in the absence of medical care and life changes in confinement, to implement strategies for health promotion and prevention of disease exacerbations.