Abstract
The worldwide pandemic caused by the novel acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in a new lethal disease termed coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Although there is an association between cardiovascular disease and covid-19, the majority of patients who require cardiovascular care for the management of ischemic heart disease may not be infected with this novel coronavirus.
Cardiovascular manifestations of covid-19 are complex with patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis simulating an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), stress cardiomyopathy, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, coronary spasm, or nonspecific myocardial injury. This paper deals with the care of predominantly STEMI patients during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on a) incidence of acute coronary syndromes; b) treatment of STEMI patients - primary percutaneous coronary intervention and fibrinolysis based strategy; c) appropriate personal protection; and d) burden for healthcare providers.