Charting a Safe and Expeditious Course Back to Elective Cardiac Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has swept across the United States, leaving a wake of unprecedented disruption. At the front lines, hospitals have swiftly enacted large-scale structural and organizational changes in order to meet the unique challenges of the pandemic. Based on the recommendations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), most hospitals across the United States have significantly curtailed all non-emergent procedures in an effort to conserve resources for a potential surge in severe COVID-19 infections. Consequently, cardiac surgeons have found themselves in uncharted waters due to indefinite cancellation of elective cardiac surgery. At the same time, while some patients with surgical-level cardiovascular disease have been left unable to access definitive treatment, others are avoiding the hospital altogether for fear of infection. What has become clear amidst the flux and uncertainty of the pandemic is that we must find a way to remain available to our patients by charting a safe and expeditious path toward resumption of elective cardiac surgery.