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Hi everyone, this is John Mandrola from the Heart.org Medscape Cardiology and this is this week in

cardiology for March 20th, 2020.

This week again, it's coronavirus and COVID-19 but I'll have some cardiology mixed in. It's

only been a week but it feels like a year.

Yesterday brought news of 4,000, 4,000 new coronavirus cases in the US.

Overall, the numbers were even more stunning. Eight days ago we had 1700 cases in the US. Yesterday they were 12,000. Of course this is what exponential growth looks like.

My city of Louisville is not a hot spot, but we do have cases and when you have a few cases you know more are coming. So my hospital like yours is

planning. Medical assistance are being reassigned, some to cleaning duties, others to nursing assistance.

Early in the week we were screening visitors at our hospital.

Now we are essentially banning visitors.

Elective cases are postponed, the census is down, the

halls quiet, and the rooms open and ready. Now look I try to limit cliche when I write but here goes.

Last week there were reports of a storm brewing offshore.

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