Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in Croatia remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to compare the utilization and provision of cardiovascular services during the pre-pandemic (2017–2019) and pandemic (2020–2021) periods, leveraging nationwide data from the Croat...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Diseases |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/3/42 |
| _version_ | 1797241482640359424 |
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| author | Josip Lukenda Josip Andelo Borovac |
| author_facet | Josip Lukenda Josip Andelo Borovac |
| author_sort | Josip Lukenda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in Croatia remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to compare the utilization and provision of cardiovascular services during the pre-pandemic (2017–2019) and pandemic (2020–2021) periods, leveraging nationwide data from the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, which covers 95% of all insurance claims in the country. Our findings reveal that while the use of coronary angiographies decreased during the pandemic, there was a notable increase in the utilization of advanced heart failure treatment modalities and percutaneous coronary interventions, particularly in the context of acute myocardial infarction. Additionally, transcatheter aortic valve implantations saw a significant rise during the pandemic period. Furthermore, laboratory diagnostic testing for troponin and natriuretic peptides experienced a marked increase, while the utilization of most other cardiovascular services remained stable or showed only minor declines compared to the pre-pandemic era. These observations suggest that the Croatian cardiovascular healthcare system displayed resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully maintaining and even expanding access to various diagnostic and interventional procedures despite facing widespread societal and logistical challenges. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:24:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e59ff3b73b6840098bfb1cc05e93872a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9721 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:24:02Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-e59ff3b73b6840098bfb1cc05e93872a2024-03-27T13:33:37ZengMDPI AGDiseases2079-97212024-02-011234210.3390/diseases12030042Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide SurveyJosip Lukenda0Josip Andelo Borovac1Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital “Sveti Duh”, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCardiovascular Diseases Department, University Hospital of Split, 21000 Split, CroatiaThe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in Croatia remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to compare the utilization and provision of cardiovascular services during the pre-pandemic (2017–2019) and pandemic (2020–2021) periods, leveraging nationwide data from the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, which covers 95% of all insurance claims in the country. Our findings reveal that while the use of coronary angiographies decreased during the pandemic, there was a notable increase in the utilization of advanced heart failure treatment modalities and percutaneous coronary interventions, particularly in the context of acute myocardial infarction. Additionally, transcatheter aortic valve implantations saw a significant rise during the pandemic period. Furthermore, laboratory diagnostic testing for troponin and natriuretic peptides experienced a marked increase, while the utilization of most other cardiovascular services remained stable or showed only minor declines compared to the pre-pandemic era. These observations suggest that the Croatian cardiovascular healthcare system displayed resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully maintaining and even expanding access to various diagnostic and interventional procedures despite facing widespread societal and logistical challenges.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/3/42cardiology servicesCroatiaCOVID-19pandemichealthcarenational sample |
| spellingShingle | Josip Lukenda Josip Andelo Borovac Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey Diseases cardiology services Croatia COVID-19 pandemic healthcare national sample |
| title | Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey |
| title_full | Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey |
| title_fullStr | Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey |
| title_short | Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey |
| title_sort | impact of covid 19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in croatia a comprehensive nationwide survey |
| topic | cardiology services Croatia COVID-19 pandemic healthcare national sample |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/3/42 |
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