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Impact of COVID-19 on Cardiovascular Disease
Ivan Vosko1, Andreas Zirlik1, Heiko Bugger1
1Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria.
Insights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) increases cardiovascular disease risk. This review examines COVID-19
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has impacted global health significantly.
- Emerging evidence highlights a strong association between COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- COVID-19 may act as a cardiovascular risk modifier, similar to traditional factors like hypertension and diabetes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the existing literature on the interaction between COVID-19 and CVD.
- To explore the potential mechanisms through which COVID-19 affects cardiovascular health.
- To discuss current and future preventive and treatment strategies for CVD in the context of the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies published since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Analysis of research on the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 infection and various cardiovascular conditions.
- Synthesis of proposed direct and indirect mechanisms of COVID-19's impact on the cardiovascular system.
Main Results:
- COVID-19 is linked to an increased risk of various CVDs, including myocarditis, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, thromboembolic complications, and arrhythmias.
- Previous COVID-19 infection may elevate CVD risk comparably to established cardiovascular risk factors.
- Individuals with pre-existing CVD face worse clinical outcomes following COVID-19 infection.
Conclusions:
- COVID-19 significantly interacts with cardiovascular disease, potentially exacerbating existing conditions and increasing the risk of new ones.
- Mechanisms include direct viral invasion of cardiac tissues and systemic inflammatory responses.
- Understanding this interplay is crucial for developing effective preventive and therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular health during and after the pandemic.
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infection with the novel severe acute respiratory distress syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Until now, more than 670 million people have suffered from COVID-19 worldwide, and roughly 7 million death cases were attributed to COVID-19. Recent evidence suggests an interplay between COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease (CVD). COVID-19 may serve as a yet underappreciated CVD risk modifier, including risk factors such as diabetes mellitus or arterial hypertension. In addition, recent data suggest that previous COVID-19 may increase the risk for many entities of CVD to an extent similarly observed for traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. Furthermore, increased CVD incidence and worse clinical outcomes in individuals with preexisting CVD have been observed for myocarditis, acute coronary syndrome, heart failure (HF), thromboembolic complications, and arrhythmias. Direct and indirect mechanisms have been proposed by which COVID-19 may impact CVD and CV risk, including viral entry into CV tissue or by the induction of a massive systemic inflammatory response. In the current review, we provide an overview of the literature reporting an interaction between COVID-19 and CVD, review potential mechanisms underlying this interaction, and discuss preventive and treatment strategies and their interference with CVD that were evaluated since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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