HOLLAND, Michigan — More people are delaying trips to the emergency room during the COVID-19 pandemic, worrying local doctors over people experiencing heart attacks and strokes.
"This is nationwide," said Dr. Sandip Kothari, an ER doctor at Holland Hospital. "People are just so afraid to come into the emergency room right now."
In the last several weeks, Holland Hospital's emergency room patient population has dropped 55%. Some of the people coming in with cardiovascular problems or signs of a stroke have waited several days, Kothari said.
"Now we're beginning to see the ramifications of people, rightly so, trying to avoid the emergency room," he said. "We're seeing those complications two or three days later, and a lot of times we can't do anything when it's that far out."
While hospital's have limited some elective procedures during the pandemic, heart disease in not, generally, elective, said Dr. David Wohns, division chief of cardiology for Spectrum Health.
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"We don't want people to miss out on getting the evaluation and treatment that they need," Wohns said. "We've taken all the measures needed to make that a safe experience."
While the recommendation to avoid the emergency room if possible was effective, some people have taken it to the extreme, Kothari said.
"Some patients I've seen, who absolutely have reason to be at the hospital and be admitted, are like, 'We're sorry to bother you,'" he said. "We're trying to tell people if you have chest pains, signs of a stroke or severe abdominal pain, it's the right thing to do to come to the ER."
The risk, in those circumstances, of getting evaluated at the hospital is less than the risk of waiting at home, Wohms said.
People with heart disease or who have had a stroke are at a greater risk for contracting COVID-19, Kothari said. However, he added, Holland Hospital has gone to great lengths to keep the ER safe.
"Environmental services are going through the hospital cleaning on a scheduled basis," Kothari said. "We will do everything we can in our power to physically separate patients. There are also separate hallways where patients with respiratory symptoms go down versus the patients without respiratory symptoms."
Holland Hospital says signs of a heart attack include:
- Discomfort or pain in the chest,
- Lightheadedness/dizziness, nausea or cold sweat
- Jaw, neck or back pain
- Pain in one or both arms or shoulders
- Shortness of breath
Signs of stroke include (BEFAST):
- B = Balance: Sudden loss of balance or coordination
- E = Eyes: Sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
- F = Face: Sudden drooping of one side of the face
- A = Arms: Sudden weakness or numbness in one arm
- S = Speech: Sudden trouble speaking or confusion
- T = Time: Call 911 immediately if you notice any of these signs
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