Abstract Background Fulminant myocarditis is a catastrophic disease with high mortality and complications. A viral aetiology is frequent and the implication of SARS-CoV-2 is not yet known. Case summary A 38-year-old woman who recently arrived from Spain presented with palpitations that started suddenly 3 days prior to presentation and were associated with haemodynamic instability, without dyspnoea or chest pain. We found features of myopericarditis on the electrocardiogram and severe systolic dysfunction on the echocardiogram. The chest tomography showed findings which suggested COVID-19 infection, and PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was positive. The cardiac magnetic resonance image showed Lake Louise criteria for myocarditis. The patient was treated with immunomodulatory, steroid, and immunoglobulin therapy, with a favourable clinical response. Discussion The importance of this case lies in highlighting the severe cardiac involvement in a young patient, without previous risk factors, positive for COVID-19, and the favourable response to the medical treatment given.

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Heart transplant is a surgical procedure with a high risk of perioperative bleeding in patients with a previous history of sternotomy, congestive liver disease, and/or use of oral anticoagulants. Anticoagulation is usually done with coumarin agents (warfarin, acenocoumarol), while on the waiting list, vitamin K is available allowing for partial reversal of the anticoagulant effect, although with variable INR and risk of uncontrolled bleeding. Direct oral anticoagulants have emerged as an alternative to the use of coumarins in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). The main disadvantage of this group of drugs is that there was no specific reversal agent available that would allow an urgent reversal of the anticoagulant effect. The recent commercialization of idarucizumab (specific reversal agent) has allowed patients with NVAF on the waiting list for heart transplant to be treated with dabigatran. We present the case of a patient with advanced chronic heart failure and NVAF anticoagulated with dabigatran, who underwent urgent heart transplant after administration of idarucizumab, without complications derived from its use or from anticoagulation.

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