Cardiovascular diseases remain the main cause of death in western societies. This contributes to the appearance of new diagnostic and treatment methods addressed to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases. In the last decades new imaging methods have emerged; furthermore, routine biomarkers were found to be useful in cardiovascular risk stratification. Data reviewed in this article emphasize the multifactorial etiology of cardiovascular disease. The authors describe the role of inflammation in the precipitation and progression of atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation. Affordable and well-known inflammatory markers can be used alone or in combination with new imaging methods for a better cardiovascular risk stratification. Coronary computed tomographic angiography findings and inflammatory markers are capable to identify patients with high risk of major adverse cardiovascular events or atrial fibrillation. Furthermore, they also have an important role in the choice of treatment strategy and follow-up.

Hematological conditions and their treatments have an increased risk of cardiovascular events, and invasive interventions have a higher risk of periprocedural complications in this group of patients. The aim of this review was to evaluate the risk of invasive interventions in patients with hematologic disorders and to underline the role of noninvasive cardiovascular screening in patients with hematological disorders such as Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, anemia, hemophilia, thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, and leukemia. Based on present knowledge in the field, our opinion is that the screening of patients with hematological diseases is very important to reduce the morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular events. Noninvasive assessments are suitable for this purpose with a significantly lower risk compared to invasive interventions.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a pandemic and public health crisis of an unprecedent effect. Clinical studies reported an association between COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease, whereas COVID-19 itself can induce myocardial injury, arrhythmia, acute coronary syndrome, and venous thromboembolism. Case summary: A patient diagnosed via screening coronary computed tomography angiography with non-obstructive coronary artery disease was hospitalized with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and atrial flutter during a severe respiratory infection episode with SARS-CoV-2. After recovery from the infectious episode, fractional flow reserve-guided elective percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stent was performed. Conclusions: COVID-19 intercurrence in a cardiovascular patient with nonobstructive coronary artery disease triggered coronary plaque vulnerabilization with subsequent development of an acute coronary syndrome. SARS-CoV-2 proved to be involved via direct viral tissue involvement and concomitant mechanisms derived from systemic illness in the development of a severe supraventricular arrhythmic event.