THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF MODERN CARDIOLOGY IN LATVIA

Andrejs Ērglis, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Latvia, Head of the Latvian Centre of Cardiology, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, President of the Latvian Society of Cardiology, Vice President of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Full Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences

In: Latvian Academy of Sciences Yearbook 2021, 2021, pp. 30-34.

“We have spent the past year under the burden of COVID-19. Has it taken toll on people’s cardiac health and on cardiology? Currently, we do know that cardiovascular diseases are the most common co-morbidities in COVID-19 patients correlating with a harsher course and worse prognosis of the disease. On the other hand, cardiovascular diseases still are the leading cause of death in Latvia and in Europe, with a high incidence and prevalence in the total population. The number of patients with cardiovascular diseases still is significantly higher than the number of SARS-CoV-2 infected people, therefore we must not leave behind the first ones taking care of the latter. Living in this new reality, we have acquired the cornerstones of infection prevention: hand washing, physical distancing and using personal protective equipment; but we also have experienced significant changes in the way how health care is organised, especially the planned health care services. In 2020, for the 1st time, we performed almost 500 PCIs less than in 2019 at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, Latvian Centre of Cardiology, which had cast a shadow on the 30th anniversary of the 1st balloon angioplasty in Latvia.”

Read the whole article here (pdf).