When it comes to cardiac arrests, officials with MedStar say 2021 has gotten off to a troubling start. They're reporting a surge in cases, and the pandemic could be partly to blame.
In January, cardiac response volume was up 31 percent compared to last year. In February, it was up 38 percent.
MedStar’s Matt Zavadsky says it's a possibility that people are resisting calling 911 because they don't want to go to the hospital during the pandemic.
"We're fearful that people are experiencing signs and symptoms of a heart attack, and may be waiting too long to call 911," Zavadsky says. "By the time they call … they've gone into cardiac arrest, which then makes it very difficult to try to resuscitate them."
Zavadsky says going to the hospital is, in many ways, safer than it's ever been. What's not safe is waiting for symptoms to turn critical.
"We believe that some people are having concerns about going to hospitals or calling 911 because of the coronavirus," Zavadsky says. "We want to assure people that it's safe to call 911. It's safe to go to the hospital. In fact, it's probably never been safer."
Zavadsky is also encouraging people to learn CPR. Bystander CPR makes a huge difference in cardiac arrest cases, in fact, Zavadsky says it’s the number one predictor of cardiac arrest survival.