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. 2020 Jul;73(7):569-576.
doi: 10.1016/j.rec.2020.05.001. Epub 2020 May 8.

Coronavirus: the geriatric emergency of 2020. Joint document of the Section on Geriatric Cardiology of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology

[Article in English, Spanish]
Collaborators, Affiliations

Coronavirus: the geriatric emergency of 2020. Joint document of the Section on Geriatric Cardiology of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology

[Article in English, Spanish]
Clara Bonanad et al. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed). 2020 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infection, also known as COVID-19 (coronavirus infectious disease-19), was first identified in December 2019. In Spain, the first case of this infection was diagnosed on 31 January, 2020 and, by 15 April 2020, has caused 18 579 deaths, especially in the elderly. Due to the rapidly evolving situation regarding this disease, the data reported in this article may be subject to modifications. The older population are particularly susceptible to COVID-19 infection and to developing severe disease. The higher morbidity and mortality rates in older people have been associated with comorbidity, especially cardiovascular disease, and frailty, which weakens the immune response. Due to both the number of affected countries and the number of cases, the current situation constitutes an ongoing pandemic and a major health emergency. Because Spain has one of the largest older populations in the world, COVID-19 has emerged as a geriatric emergency. This document has been prepared jointly between the Section on Geriatric Cardiology of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology.

La infección por SARS-CoV-2, denominada COVID-19 (coronavirus infectious disease-19), es una enfermedad desconocida hasta diciembre de 2019 a la que nos enfrentamos en España desde el 31 de enero de 2020 —fecha del primer caso diagnosticado en nuestro país— y que ya ha causado la muerte de 18.579 personas (a 15 de abril de 2020), sobre todo mayores. Es importante tener en cuenta que, dado que la información evoluciona con extremada rapidez en este campo, lo expuesto en el presente documento puede estar sujeto a modificaciones. La población de mayor edad es especialmente susceptible a la infección por COVID-19, así como a desarrollar criterios de gravedad. Este aumento de morbimortalidad en el paciente mayor se ha asociado tanto con las comorbilidades, especialmente la enfermedad cardiovascular, como con la situación de fragilidad, que conlleva una respuesta inmunológica más pobre. La situación actual, tanto por los países afectados como por el número de casos, constituye una pandemia y supone una emergencia sanitaria de primer nivel. Como España es uno de los países más envejecidos del mundo, la COVID-19 se ha convertido en una emergencia geriátrica. El presente documento se ha elaborado conjuntamente entre la Sección de Cardiología Geriátrica de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología y la Sociedad Española de Geriatría y Gerontología.

Keywords: COVID-19; Emergencia mundial; Geriatrics; Geriatría; Pandemia; Pandemic; Worldwide emergency.

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References

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