Among the hot topics discussed at the American Heart Association’s, the COVID-19 pandemic, heart-healthy eating, and better ways to treat and prevent heart disease topics emerged during the annual meeting this week.

Dr. Manesh Patel who is the meeting’s chair said in an interview that “I was at the sessions yesterday, and I was in clinic this morning, and there were things I learned during the sessions that are effecting how I care for my patients.”

According to Patel, chief of cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., “heart doctors are still grappling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s heart health,” which was one of the meeting’s themes.

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According to the one major study tracking more than 1.7 million patients found that efforts to control blood pressure dramatically slipped during the pandemic, increasing those folks’ chances of heart attack, stroke, and heart disease.

Prior to COVID-19, 60% of patients had their blood pressure under control, but that number dropped to around 50%.

Dr. Patel said “We know that just during the first six- to the 12-month window of COVID-19, a 10% reduction in those who have managed blood pressure  we know that regrettably, that will lead to pandemic aftereffects, with greater risks of cardiovascular events for many people.”

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