It has been widely reported that A&E attendance across the UK has decreased since the COVID-19 lockdown came into effect, with newspapers suggesting that this is especially the case for patients with heart attacks or strokes. Writing in the Lancet, Lumley-Holmes, et al. looked at callout figures across the West Midlands for these two conditions, and found that there was no significant change associated with lockdown. There was no evidence suggesting that people were reluctant to ring for an ambulance when they experienced heart attack or stroke symptoms.

Read more: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31031-X/fulltext

Lumley-Holmes J, Brake S, Docherty M, Lilford R, Watson S. Emergency ambulance services for heart attack and stroke during UK's COVID-19 lockdown. Lancet. 2020; 395: e93-4.

Corresponding author Richard Lilford. Richard Lilford is supported by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands (ARC WM). Views expressed are not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care.