A Scoping Review on COVID-19-Induced Cardiovascular Complications

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a type of human coronavirus that resulted in the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Although it was generally categorized as a respiratory disease, its involvement in cardiovascular complications was identified from the onset. Elevated cardiac troponin levels (a myocardial injury marker) and echocardiograms, which showed the anomalous performance of the patients’ hearts, were noted in the early case reports obtained from Wuhan, China. A couple of mechanisms have been proposed to explain COVID-19-induced cardiovascular complications, with systemic inflammation being the major focus recently. Chest pain and palpitations are among the prevalent symptoms in moderate to severe COVID-19-recovering patients. Cardiac damage potentially occurs due to multifactorial factors, which include cytokine-induced inflammation, direct cardiotoxicity, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), among others. The cardiovascular manifestations include cardiac arrhythmia, cardiogenic shock, venous thromboembolism, and elevated cardiac biomarkers. Both the long- and short-term effects of these cardiovascular complications remain puzzling to researchers, as substantial evidence is yet to be gathered to reach a consensus on the severity of COVID-19 in the heart. The treatment considerations currently include antiarrhythmic management, ACEI or ARB use, anticoagulation, hemodynamic support, and immunosuppression. This review aimed to outline the pathogenesis of the various cardiac complications due to COVID-19 as well as the available treatment modalities of COVID-19 infection. Both the mechanisms and the treatments have been succinctly explained in a proper manner to ensure understanding.

Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19: A Scoping Review of Evidence

“…[1, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]25,28,30,33,[35][36][37][38][39][40][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] It should be noted that the authors of all 27 studies reviewed in detail made three general conclusions regarding cardiac complications in patients with COVID-19: (a) the prevalence of specific cardiovascular complications appears to vary depending on specific gender and some other socioeconomic characteristics of patients but not their age; (b) the rate of cardiac complications is generally statistically significant across the board, regardless of the statistical analysis used; and (c) COVID-19 related cardiac complications are generally associated with increased mortality rates compared to patients with only pulmonary complications.…”