Societies Provide Guidance on Safely Reintroducing CV Services

According to the leaders of 15 North American cardiovascular (CV) societies, “unprecedented times require unprecedented collaboration.”

As part of their collaborative efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders have developed a consensus report that brings together recommendations from North American CV societies and provides guidance on the safe reintroduction of invasive CV procedures and diagnostic tests following the pandemic’s initial peak.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic abates, developing appropriate strategies to reintroduce routine CV care will be crucial,” the report’s authors wrote.

The societies’ leadership offer guidance for 3 response levels: reintroduction of some services, reintroduction of most services, and regular services. The response level for which an institution is in should be decided in collaboration with public health officials.

Guidance on how to safely reintroduce CV procedures and diagnostic tests in each of the 3 levels cover the following areas: interventional and structural cardiology, CV surgery, electrophysiology, echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography, CV magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear cardiac imaging, heart failure/transplant, and vascular medicine.

View the full table of guidance here.

The authors also highlight 8 considerations that practitioners and policy makers must make when implementing the guidance, including performing a minimally invasive procedure with a shorter length of stay, a less invasive test, or alternative imaging modality if the efficacy is similar to that of the more invasive option.

“[The consensus report] provides an ethical framework with appropriate safeguards for the gradual reintroduction of invasive CV procedures and diagnostic tests after the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors concluded. “A collaborative approach will be essential to mitigate the ongoing morbidity and mortality associated with untreated CV disease.”

—Colleen Murphy

Reference:

Wood DA, Mahmud E, Thouran VH, et al. Safe reintroduction of cardiovascular services during the COVID-19 pandemic: from the North American Society Leadership. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;75(25):3177-3183. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2020.04.063