there were no beds,” Best shares. “And there were times where patients were waiting a long time to be transferred from one hospital to another where there was a bed for appropriate care.”
Routine care also decreased, she says, “because we had periods of time where patients were unable to get into their doctor’s offices.” Or those who lost a job with health insurance couldn’t see a doctor or fill a prescription because of the cost.
That made existing disparities in care worse, says Dr. Connie Tsao, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
It’s not enough for health care professionals, she says, to simply instruct the most disenfranchised individuals to pull themselves out of unhealthy situations – such as poverty or a lack of access to healthy food. “I think it really boils down to what can other people do?” Government entities and health organizations need to create structural changes, Tsao shares.
How to protect yourself
Still, there are steps you can take to protect yourself:
- Get back on track with regular care – now. “It is safe,” Lloyd-Jones says. “It is important. Get with your doctor, know your numbers and make a plan for how we’re going to get things back under control.”
- Restart healthy routines that include physical activity, nutritious food and proper sleep, Tsao says.
- If you’re dealing with addiction, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers a national helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) or by texting your ZIP code to HELP4U (435748).
- If you or a loved one is having symptoms of a serious problem, don’t ignore them. “During the pandemic, we saw a lot of people coming in very late with their heart attacks, where there’s less we can do for it,” Best notes. “And that’s one of the things that was increasing the mortality.” People should call 911 if they experience chest discomfort or other heart attack symptoms or if they or a loved one develops stroke symptoms such as face drooping or speech difficulty.
- Get vaccinated. “If you get your COVID vaccine, you’re less likely to get COVID,” Best adds. “And you’re less likely to be in the hospital with COVID. You’re less likely to be one of the factors that’s decreasing the resources for everyone else.”
- De-stress. Stress takes a toll on many heart-related factors – “on our sleep, on our blood pressure, on our ability to lose weight,” Lloyd-Jones says. When you exercise, for example, “you’re giving your body a pop-off valve for some of that stress.” Reestablishing social connections also will lower stress, he adds, and help people “get back to joyful living, which is good for your heart and good for the brain.”
By the American Heart Association