Cardiovascular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: Think ahead, protect hearts, reduce mortality.

Cardiovascular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: Think ahead, protect hearts, reduce mortality. Cardiol J. 2020 Aug 13;: Authors: Li G, Saguner AM, An J, Ning Y, Day JD, Ding L, Waintraub X, Wang J Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading globally. As of July 3, 2020, the number of confirmed cases has been nearly 11 million with 521,000 fatalities. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is accountable for COVID-19. Newly diagnosed and worsening cardiovascular disease are common complications in COVID-19 patients, including acute cardiac injury, hypertension, arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest. The mechanisms contributing to cardiac disease burden include hypoxemia, inflammatory factor storm, dysfunctional angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and drug-induced cardiac toxicity. Notably, the macrophages expressing ACE2 as direct host cells of SARS-CoV-2 secrete chemokine and inflammatory cytokines, as well as a decrease in cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to elevated exhaustion levels and dysfunctional diversity of T cells, that may be accountable for the "hyperinflammation and cytokine storm syndrome" and subsequently acute cardiac injury and deteriorating cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 patients. However, no targeted medication or vaccines for COVID-19 are yet available. The management of cardiovascular disease in pati...
Source: Cardiology Journal - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Cardiol J Source Type: research