Two reports today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reveal large increases in deaths due to ischemic heart disease and high blood pressure in some US regions and dramatic drops in cardiovascular diagnostic testing internationally at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly fueled by fear of contracting the virus and delays caused by healthcare systems overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.First surge hit NYC, other areas hardLed by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, the first report, an observational study, compared weekly death data from the US National Center for Health Statistics from Jan 1 to Jun 2, 2020 with those from the same period in 2019.From Jan 1 to Jun 2, 2020,