Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society
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Heart transplantation may represent a particular risk factor for severe coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to chronic immunosuppression and frequent comorbidities. We conducted a nation-wide survey of all heart transplant centers in Germany presenting the clinical characteristics of heart transplant recipients with COVID-19 during the first months of the pandemic in Germany. ⋯ Severe course of COVID-19 was frequent in heart transplanted patients. High mortality was associated with right ventricular dysfunction, arrhythmias, thromboembolic events, and markedly elevated cardiac biomarkers.
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The first reports of declining hospital admissions for major cardiovascular emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted public attention. However, systematic evidence on this subject is sparse. We aimed to investigate the rate of emergent hospital admissions, subsequent invasive treatments and comorbidities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. ⋯ Admission rates for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergencies declined during the pandemic in Germany, while patients' comorbidities and treatment allocations remained unchanged. Further investigation is warranted to identify underlying reasons and potential implications on patients' outcomes.
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Observational Study
Echocardiographic characteristics of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Myocardial involvement induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection might be important for long-term prognosis. The aim of this observational study was to characterize the myocardial effects during SARS-CoV-2 infections by echocardiography. ⋯ Myocardial involvement due to SARS-CoV-2-infection was highly prevalent in the present cohort-even in patients with mild symptoms. It appears to be characterized by specific speckle tracking deformation abnormalities in the basal LV segments. These data set the stage to prospectively test whether these parameters are helpful for risk stratification and for the long-term follow-up of these patients.
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Coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) has become a worldwide pandemic affecting people at high risk and particularly at advanced age, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. As cardiovascular patients are at high risk but also have dyspnea and fatigue as leading symptoms, prevention, diagnostics and treatment in these patients are important to provide adequate care for those with or without COVID-19 but most importantly when comorbid cardiovascular conditions are present. ⋯ As most of the COVID-19 patients have cardiovascular comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease and heart failure, which imposes a high risk on these patients, cardiovascular therapy should not be modified or even withdrawn. As cardiac injury is a common feature of COVID-19 associated ARDS and is linked with poor outcomes, swift diagnostic management and specialist care of cardiovascular patients in the area of COVID-19 is of particular importance and deserves special attention.