Looking After Your Heart Health During COVID-19

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it affords us the unique opportunity to help lengthen the lives of those who suffer from cardiovascular disease.

 As we continue honoring American Heart Month, I would like to call attention to a new American Heart Association initiative that clarifies the connection between cardiovascular disease and COVID-19—two health issues that weigh on most Americans.  In September 2020, the AHA launched “Don’t Die of Doubt”, an awareness campaign designed to address the understandable fear of visiting a hospital during COVID-19. 

The pandemic has created legitimate, widespread fear—fear of leaving home, fear of spending time with friends and family, fear for loved ones, and frankly fear of dying. While acknowledging the need for safe practices necessitated by COVID-19, the AHA emphasizes that medical emergencies still require a hospital visit. Statistics suggest that many people have delayed or avoided critical care out of fear of virus exposure, with 28% of people with heart attack or stroke symptoms electing to stay home rather than visiting the emergency room*. The AHA has sought to reduce this fear by dismantling myths and misinformation about the dangers of hospitals and healthcare clinics.  

It is a fact that a hospital still remains the safest place to be when a medical emergency arises*.  Front line workers and first responders are trained to avoid spreading germs. Hospitals follow strict sanitary protocols, social distancing practices, and take extraordinary steps to prevent infected people from spreading the virus. 

It’s true that the best way to avoid contracting COVID-19 is to limit social contact. That being said, if it’s a choice between dying of a stroke, cardiac arrest, or even an arrhythmia, we must have faith in our medical communities and their ability to protect patients. Those vulnerable to cardiac issues can and should seek immediate clinical care. Since BioSig focuses on patients that suffer from heart arrhythmias, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of this initiative.

Our core product, the PURE EP™ System is a novel signal processing platform designed to assist physicians in the treatment of arrhythmias. PURE EP™ has been used in over 500 clinical cases and has covered every procedure type of arrhythmia. Click here to learn what leading electrophysiologists are saying about our system.

Although AF and other arrhythmias are not always recognized as an emergency procedure, they account for over 40% of cardiology encounters*. Therefore, we endorse the expert opinion of physicians and other reputed organizations that certify that ablations for severe arrhythmia can be safely and effectively performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for the AHA’s guidance on ablation procedures during COVID-19.

As the American Heart Association says, “nobody should die of doubt.”  Please trust those that know our hearts better than we do. 

Thank you very much for participating in this crucial and historic American Heart Month with us.

Sources:

*https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/dont-die-of-doubt

*https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/safe-emergency-care-during-covid-19/art-20487829

*https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.047063 

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