People who suffered cardiac arrest during the pandemic were negatively affected, according to a study from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center.

The study found that the recovery rate among those who had a cardiac arrest in April 2020 was down by 30% in urban areas where a state of emergency was declared before other parts of the country. Researchers believe that this lower recovery rate was due in part to more people collapsing at home, preventing quick aid with a defibrillator.

The center’s research team analyzed the data of about 22,000 patients across the country who had been transported to a hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest between 2017 and 2020.

Only about 20% of patients in April 2020 in Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures — where a state of emergency was declared ahead of other areas — can now live without assistance. The figure is about 30% lower than the roughly 30% of patients who had favorable recoveries in 2017-19.

Additionally, while in nonpandemic years some 30% of patients in urban areas received assistance with a defibrillator from bystanders before the arrival of an ambulance, this figure fell to about 15% in April 2020.

“The study highlighted how the coronavirus pandemic has affected critical-care patients,” said Takeshi Yamamoto, associate professor at Nippon Medical School. “It’s important to make defibrillators available in local communities so that they can be used on patients who have a cardiac arrest at home.”