Cardiologists are warning of people with heart attacks and strokes presenting late at emergency departments, which can have serious long-term and sometimes fatal consequences for patients.
The Irish Heart Foundation says fear of contracting Covid-19 is the main reason people are downplaying their symptoms and delaying showing up at hospital.
Seventy-three year-old Michael Ryan is a keen gardener, and it is keeping him busy at his home, in Corbally in Limerick, during this pandemic.
A long-time Civil Defence member, he suffered cardiac arrest seven years ago. But he knew the symptoms and acted immediately to seek medical help, and he says it saved his life. "Time is of the essence when this happens to you, and if you do not get the right