Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) and Heart Failure: Current Perspective.

COVID-19 has been the biggest pandemic which the world has seen in recent times. The SARS-Cov-2 infection has the potential to cause multi-organ dysfunction. Though the virus predominantly affects the lungs, it can affect the heart in myriad ways. Heart failure (HF) is one such complication caused by the virus, both in patients with and without cardiovascular diseases. Different mechanisms have been proposed for the pathogenesis of HF in COVID-19 ranging from direct viral injury to indirect immune mediated damage. Patients can have different clinical presentations with either acute heart failure or chronic heart failure. Early recognition and prompt management is the need of the hour to prevent any mortality and morbidity. Summary: COVID-19 can affect the heart in many ways. This article describes the mechanisms, clinical presentations and management of heart failure caused by COVID-19 infection. © Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.