Background: Acute cardiac conditions require timely assessment and management to optimise patient outcomes. It is important to understand whether changes in acute cardiac ED visits occurred in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To provide a comprehensive synthesis of published articles regarding the impact of the pandemic on acute cardiac-related ED presentations in terms of rates, patient demographics, ED clinical characteristics, and outcomes.

Methods: A scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology was undertaken. Four databases (Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, and the Public Health Database (ProQuest)) were searched for articles published in English between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2022 that reported on acute cardiac-related ED presentation rates, comparing COVID-19 pandemic and non-pandemic time periods, for adult patients (18 years and over), and demographics, and/or presentation characteristics, and/or outcomes.

Results: Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. There was a significant decline in ED presentations for heart failure and myocardial infarction during 2020. Demographic, presentation characteristics and outcomes were inconsistently reported.

Conclusion: While there is variation and heterogeneity in the current available evidence, this data is helpful for informing clinicians and policy makers for future pandemics as well as providing a reference point for COVID-19 related research.

Keywords: COVID-19; Chest pain; Emergency Service, Heart diseases; Hospital; Scoping Review.

Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.