The COVID-19 pandemic placed a significant burden on the German healthcare system. Based on the experience of severe disease progression of the SARS-CoV‑2 infection from neighboring European countries in the early 2020s, with ICU overload and high mortality rates, efforts were made in Germany to increase the capacity of available ICU beds. Subsequently, all documentation and reporting focused on the ICU capacities for COVID-19 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients who experience an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are at high risk of further cardiovascular events. Long-term treatment of cardiovascular risk factors, such as hyperlipidemia, is critical to prevent progression of coronary heart disease. However, many patients do not reach recommended target levels for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, despite receiving lipid-lowering therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a highly prevalent disorder and a risk factor for early coronary artery disease. The objective of this registry was to document the clinical characteristics of patients with definite FH in Germany and to document lipid profiles, lipid-lowering therapy, and lipid target achievement during longitudinal follow-up. Methods: HYDRA-FH was a national, prospective, multicenter, non-interventional registry conducted in 35 centers in Germany.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a focus of acute medical care on the treatment of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and pneumonia with consequences for all other medical specialties. Between March and May 2020 a decline in the number of admissions for elective cardiac procedures as well as for cardiac emergencies was observed. The number of patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction decreased, especially those with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), while time intervals between symptom onset and admission sometimes increased.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus characteristically display an atherogenic lipid profile with high triglyceride concentrations, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations not always elevated. It is unclear if patients with diabetes who present with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) receive different or more-potent lipid-lowering therapy (LLT).
Aims: To investigate lipid abnormalities in patients with and without type 2 diabetes hospitalised for an ACS, and use of LLT before admission and 4 months after the event.