Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jun;35(6):1302-1305.
doi: 10.1111/jocs.14538. Epub 2020 Apr 19.

Cardiac involvement in COVID-19 patients: Risk factors, predictors, and complications: A review

Ghazal Aghagoli  1 , Benjamin Gallo Marin  1 , Luke B Soliman  1 , Frank W Sellke  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Cardiac involvement in COVID-19 patients: Risk factors, predictors, and complications: A review

Ghazal Aghagoli et al. J Card Surg. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Respiratory complications have been well remarked in the novel coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19), yet an emerging body of research indicates that cardiac involvement may be implicated in poor outcomes for these patients.

Aims: This review seeks to gather and distill the existing body of literature that describes the cardiac implications of COVID-19.

Materials and methods: The English literature was reviewed for papers dealing with the cardiac effects of COVID-19.

Results: Notably, COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease are counted in greater frequency in intensive care unit settings, and ultimately suffer greater rates of mortality. Other studies have noted cardiac presentations for COVID-19, rather than respiratory, such as acute pericarditis and left ventricular dysfunction. In some patients there has been evidence of acute myocardial injury, with correspondingly increased serum troponin I levels. With regard to surgical interventions, there is a dearth of data describing myocardial protection during cardiac surgery for COVID-19 patients. Although some insights have been garnered in the study of cardiovascular diseases for these patients, these insights remain fragmented and have yet to cement clear guidelines for actionable clinical practice.

Conclusion: While some information is available, further studies are imperative for a more cohesive understanding of the cardiac pathophysiology in COVID-19 patients to promote more informed treatment and, ultimately, better clinical outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; cardiac surgery; heart; respiratory failure; virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors decare that there are no conflict of interests.

References

    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:727‐733. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Coronavirus disease 2019 (‎COVID‐19)‎: situation report – 70. 2020. https://www.who.int/docs/default‐source/coronaviruse/situation‐reports/2.... Accessed 30 March 2020.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)—symptoms. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019‐ncov/symptoms‐testing/symptoms.html. Accessed 26 March 2020.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019‐ncov/need‐extra‐precautions/people‐.... Accessed 31 March 2020.
    1. Li B, Yang J, Zhao F, et al. Prevalence and impact of cardiovascular metabolic diseases on COVID‐19 in China [published online ahead of print March 11, 2020]. Clin Res Cardiol. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00392-020-01626-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms