Cardiovascular considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic: A focused review for practice in Japan

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have drastic consequences for patients, healthcare workers, and the health system. Its cardiovascular implications have been well described in previous studies, but original reports from Japan are sparse. Validating overseas findings in the Japanese clinical settings is crucial to improve local COVID-19 care and to clarify the pandemic's impacts in the country. This review of available literature demonstrates that in Japanese patients and clinical settings too, there is a close relationship between COVID-19 and the cardiovascular system including cardiovascular complications. On the contrary, secondary effects on cardiovascular practice including service disruptions, telemedicine, and epidemiological changes in Japan have been relatively small.

Keywords: COVID-19; Japan; cardiovascular complications; epidemiology; health system.

Figure 1.

Reported incidence rates of thrombotic complications in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Data adapted from four studies (-). The incidence rates appear to be substantially lower in Japanese cohorts, but differences in study designs and existence of numerous confounding factors make it virtually impossible to determine to what extent ethnic predispositions actually play a role.

Figure 2.

Determinants of cardiovascular complications in COVID-19. The effects of the infection on the cardiovascular system are dictated by various factors regarding the host, the pathogen, and medical interventions.