[Cardiac biomarkers and COVID-19 - Phenotypes and Interpretation].

Current pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 inducing viral COVID-19 pneumonia, is categorized in 3 stages. Some biomarkers could be assigned to one of these stages, showing a correlation to mortality in COVID-19 patients. Laboratory findings in COVID-19, especially when serially evaluated, may represent individual disease severity and prognosis. These may help planning and controlling therapeutic interventions. Biomarkers for myocardial injury (high sensitive cardiac troponin, hsTn) or hemodynamic stress (NTproBNP) may occur in COVID-19 pneumonia such as in other pneumonias, correlating with severity and prognosis of the underlying disease. In hospitalized COVID-19 patients' mild increases of hsTn or NTproBNP may be explained by cardiovascular comorbidities and direct or indirect cardiac damage or stress caused by or during COVID-19 pneumonia. In case of suspected NSTE-ACS and COVID-19, indications for echocardiography or reperfusion strategy should be carefully considered against the risk of contamination. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.