TYLER, Texas —
While we're dealing with COVID-19, emergency room visits are a concern at an East Texas hospital. CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances is reporting, while they're seeing fewer people come in, it's not necessarily a good thing.
“So we are seeing people not coming in to see their primary care doctors, specialists, in the office, some I’m seeing decide not to come to the emergency room when they should,” Dr. Fagg Sanford, Cardiologist and Chair of the Trinity Clinic Cardiovascular Institute said. “Bad things are happening, heart attacks, folks that might have been prevented with earlier attention.”
The hospital is finding more severe and life-threatening cases coming into the ER than prior to COVID-19.
Dr. Sanford says when the initial problems start to arise, like chest pain or shortness of breath people are putting off treatment.
“The disease itself, if identified early, if treated early and followed care appropriately, doesn't have to result in catastrophic outcomes,” Dr. Sanford said. “If you're waiting until too late, then what could have been prevented, often occurs, that's what we're seeing in an alarming fashion."
He followed by saying they're not overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, but heart disease, lung disease, heart attack, stroke are the same diseases that they've been seeing for decades.
If you are in a position where you're not sure what to do about your symptoms, he says to meet with your primary care physician or use resources like Telehealth.
"In my practice of cardiology, we first and foremost like to talk to the patient, hear what they have to say, whether it's a new patient or follow up because you learn more about the patient through that conversation, that one on one dialogue than almost anything else,” Dr. Sanford said. “We can help make a decision as to whether those next steps are even needed based upon that video or that phone visit as well."
He says there is no reason to not come into the office or the emergency room because of any concerns about your own health in regards to contracting COVID-19.