Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2025
Optical Coherence Tomography Based Biomechanical Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Coronary Atherosclerosis Progression
Published on: January 15, 2022
COVID-19 and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Literature Review From Pathogenesis to Diagnosis
Aroma Naeem1, Shehroze Tabassum1, Saima Gill1
1Internal Medicine, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Lahore, PAK.
Insights
COVID-19 can cause serious heart damage, including myocardial injury, through ACE-2 receptor binding. This review details the pathogenesis, clinical signs, and diagnostic methods for these cardiac issues in COVID-19 patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- COVID-19, a respiratory illness, presents with significant cardiac complications.
- Cardiac damage in COVID-19 patients is linked to the virus's entry via the ACE-2 receptor.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the pathogenesis of COVID-19-associated myocardial injury.
- To outline the clinical manifestations of cardiac pathologies in COVID-19.
- To discuss diagnostic approaches for myocardial injury in COVID-19 patients.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific articles on COVID-19 and cardiac injury.
- Analysis of studies detailing viral-cardiac interactions.
- Compilation of data on clinical presentations and diagnostic tools.
Main Results:
- COVID-19 can lead to myocardial infarction, myocarditis, heart failure, arrhythmias, and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
- Elevated biomarkers like troponin, myoglobin, and NT-proBNP indicate cardiac injury.
- Diagnostic tools include ECG, CMR, Echo, CT-Scan, and endomyocardial biopsy.
Conclusions:
- COVID-19 poses a significant threat to cardiac health, manifesting during and after infection.
- Understanding the mechanisms and diagnostic criteria is crucial for managing COVID-19 cardiac complications.
Abstract:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) took the world by storm after the first case of COVID-19 emerged in China on December 8, 2019. The disease is generally considered as an infection of the respiratory system, but serious life-threatening myocardial injuries have been reported with this infection. Coronavirus can damage cardiac myocytes by entering the cell through angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor binding. Myocardial infarction, myocarditis, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy are cardiac clinical manifestations commonly seen among patients affected by COVID-19. These cardiac pathologies are seen both during ongoing infection and post-infection. Elevated levels of myoglobin, troponin, creatine kinase-MB, plasma interleukin-6, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) have been found in COVID-19-associated myocardial injuries. The diagnostic modalities used in myocardial injuries due to COVID-19 include electrocardiography (ECG), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), endomyocardial biopsy, echocardiography (Echo), and computerized tomography (CT-Scan). This literature review will discuss, in detail, the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of myocardial injuries due to COVID-19.
