Turkish Society of Cardiology warned about protection against cardiovascular diseases at a meeting held on World Heart Day on September 29. Underlining that the first hours are vital for a person who has had a heart attack, Yeditepe University Hospitals Head of the Cardiology Department and Future President of the Turkish Society of Cardiology Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Değertekin stressed that about a third of heart attack patients never go to the hospital and added: "TURKMI-I and II studies showed that in Türkiye, the time from the onset of the patient's complaints to calling the 112 emergency line was an average of 53 minutes before the pandemic and increased to 90 minutes during the pandemic.

We observe that patients do not call or are late in calling 112 due to the fear of contracting COVID-19. However, the damage increases as the periods for the ambulance to reach, the patient to be transferred to the hospital, to be taken to the catheter laboratory, and to establish vascular access get longer. Time is lost due to not calling the ambulance on time. For this reason, we also have patients who die at their homes or before reaching the hospital.''

Do Not Risk Your Life For Fear of Covid-19, Call 112

Mentioning the importance of the risk of a heart attack during the pandemic, Prof. Dr. Değertekin made the following statements: "Blockage of the vessel with a clot after plaque rupture in the vessels feeding the heart, which we call coronary arteries, causes a heart attack. The heart muscle begins to die within 20 minutes and completely dies within 12 hours. Muscle death happens very quickly and in high amounts, especially in the first 1-2 hours. For this reason, the patient who started having heart attack symptoms should be transferred to the nearest coronary angiography center by ambulance by calling 112 quickly, and vascular access should be established as soon as possible."