ACC's NCDR Chest Pain-MI and CathPCI Registries Will Collect COVID-19 Data

May 11, 2020—The American College of Cardiology (ACC) announced that it will begin collecting COVID-19 data through the ACC's National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Chest Pain–MI Registry and the CathPCI Registry to capture the relationship between COVID-19 and heart disease and maximize data on the cardiac impact of the virus.

The ACC stated that with the new data module, the ACC/NCDR will collect data on COVID-19 status for all patients in the Chest Pain–MI Registry and CathPCI Registry, and among affected patients, also collect key biomarkers that may reflect cardiac damage in COVID-19 patients, hospital events that may reflect complications of COVID-19, and COVID-19 therapies that may have cardiac effects.

According to ACC, hospitals and systems already participating in both registries will not need to join a new registry or engage in a new way to submit their data. A paper version of the data elements is available now to participating hospitals and health systems as an interim step to give ACC and certified software vendors the opportunity to add the COVID-19 data elements to their respective data collection tools for the registries. Hospitals that use a vendor tool will hear from their vendor.

The registries will accept data on COVID-19 patients from the beginning of the pandemic in the United States earlier this year, allowing hospitals to join the registries to track their patient care during COVID-19.

On a broader scale, long-term data from the registries will allow for future research on COVID-19, including its impacts on specific racial, ethnic, and gender groups, and identify where gaps and/or disparities in care exist.

“Registries will play a key role in understanding how this virus influences the care and outcomes for individuals with heart disease, both now and in the future,” stated Frederick Masoudi, MD, in the ACC press release. Dr. Masoudi, who serves as NCDR Management Board Chair and Chief Scientific Advisor, continued, “We already collect high-quality clinical data to support hospitals in providing the highest quality care. Now it is critical to collect additional data that will provide key insights on the quality of care and outcomes of heart disease patients in the COVID-19 era.”

ACC President Athena Poppas, MD, also commented in the society's announcement, “The ACC remains committed to helping its members continue to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health. We are learning every day how COVID-19 impacts our patients. By adapting our registries to answer pressing scientific questions and knowledge gaps, we can ensure that our cardiovascular care team has validated data and updated tools to provide the highest quality care particularly during these uncertain times.”