Earlier this year, uncertainty about the pandemic was at its highest.

Doctors' offices closed.

Elective operations were canceled.

And doctors around the country were starting to wonder what was going to happen to all

the patients who could not come in for their usual care.

You know, I think as early as March, I could see the impact of COVID, the fear of COVID on my patients

and how they were deciding how to manage their medical care.

That's Dr. Michelle Kiddelsen.

She's a cardiologist at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

She first noticed that attitudes were shifting when she saw a new patient in early March,

a 70-year-old man with chest pain.

And it was very interesting because he had this exertional chest discomfort that was undoubtedly caused by a blockage in the heart artery.

And medically, that situation has been shown in multiple studies that medications work just as well as stents.

So I explained this to him and he was suspicious and his wife was a little suspicious.

And I said, well, let's just try medicines because I know medicines may work and they said,

fine, but schedule us for an angiogram two weeks later.

Fine.

Kiddelsen went ahead and scheduled that test to look at the patient's arteries.

But by the time the appointment came around, COVID-19 precautions were in full effect.

She called the patient up and learned that he still did not feel well.

So I was prepared to tell him, yes, your angiogram scheduled this Friday, you'll come in at 7.30

and he said, you know what?

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