BACKGROUND: Many patients with COVID-19 have pre-existing cardiovascular (CV) co-morbidities or develop acute heart damage during the course of the disease. OBJECTIVES: To study the risk of COVID-19 infection in the presence of preexisting CV diseases and to describe new CV manifestations during COVID-19. METHODS: A "scoping review" was carried out via PubMed, to synthesize the results of research currently published on this subject. RESULTS: Patients with cardiovascular disease were at greater risk of developing COVID-19, especially in its severe form. These patients were five to ten times more at risk of death. Cardiac manifestations, de novo, were dominated by acute myocardial damage, defined by a significant elevation of cardiac troponins. These occurred in 7 to 17% of hospitalized patients. The presence of a new heart lesion in patients with COVID-19 was consistently associated with a poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Given the enormous cardiovascular challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prognostic impact of heart damage, additional research at a high level of evidence will be necessary.
BACKGROUND: Many patients with COVID-19 have pre-existing cardiovascular (CV) co-morbidities or develop acute heart damage during the course of the disease. OBJECTIVES: To study the risk of COVID-19infection in the presence of preexisting CV diseases and to describe new CV manifestations during COVID-19. METHODS: A "scoping review" was carried out via PubMed, to synthesize the results of research currently published on this subject. RESULTS:Patients with cardiovascular disease were at greater risk of developing COVID-19, especially in its severe form. These patients were five to ten times more at risk of death. Cardiac manifestations, de novo, were dominated by acute myocardial damage, defined by a significant elevation of cardiac troponins. These occurred in 7 to 17% of hospitalized patients. The presence of a new heart lesion in patients with COVID-19 was consistently associated with a poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Given the enormous cardiovascular challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prognostic impact of heart damage, additional research at a high level of evidence will be necessary.
Authors: Abdul Ashish; Alison Unsworth; Jane Martindale; Ram Sundar; Kanishka Kavuri; Luigi Sedda; Martin Farrier Journal: BMJ Open Respir Res Date: 2020-11