Exhaustion and solidarity: Cardiologists share experiences from front lines of COVID-19 pandemic
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is collecting first-hand accounts from healthcare workers all over the world who have been diagnosing, treating and caring for COVID-19 patients.
The posts, available on the ESC website along with numerous other resources related to the ongoing pandemic, includes detailed commentary from China, France, Italy and Spain. One physician, for instance, shared what it was like on March 15, when “the French health system had just exploded.”
“Insurmountable choices had to be made concerning COVID-19-infected patients, to decide who would or would not be accepted for resuscitation,” wrote Xavier Puéchal, MD, PhD, of Cochin Hospital in Paris, France. “There were no more vacant beds to accommodate patients, caregivers were totally overwhelmed, equipment was lacking, and minimum care could no longer be provided. A war situation was developing. The dedication of the teams was tremendous, but the wave was too violent, too sudden and took everything away.”
In another first-hand account, Xiang Cheng, MD, director of the department of cardiology at Union Hospital in Wuhan, China, shared lessons about safety and the importance of high-quality personal protection equipment (PPE).
“During this pandemic, although the main presentation of COVID-19 is not cardiovascular, all cardiologists need to remain vigilant and protect ourselves,” Cheng wrote. “Wearing PPE is crucial.”
While the posts detail the hardships these physicians are experiencing, they also reveal that hope is not lost.
“Every day that goes by, physicians acquire new information about this new disease and learn to treat patients in the best way,” wrote three cardiologists working in the Italian city of Crema. “It's a hard job, we are tired and sometimes sad, but we know that all together, we will win this war!”
Looking for more information on the pandemic’s impact on healthcare providers? A recent JAMA Network Open study explored the mental health outcomes of nurses and physicians treating COVID-19 patients in Wuhan.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.