Cardiovascular research
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Cardiovascular research · Dec 2020
Multicenter Study Observational StudyThe Chief Scientist Office Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Imaging in SARS Coronavirus disease-19 (CISCO-19) study.
COVID-19 is typically a primary respiratory illness with multisystem involvement. The prevalence and clinical significance of cardiovascular and multisystem involvement in COVID-19 remain unclear. ⋯ ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04403607.
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Cardiovascular research · Dec 2020
ReviewEndothelial dysfunction in COVID-19: a position paper of the ESC Working Group for Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology, and the ESC Council of Basic Cardiovascular Science.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented healthcare emergency causing mortality and illness across the world. Although primarily affecting the lungs, the SARS-CoV-2 virus also affects the cardiovascular system. In addition to cardiac effects, e.g. myocarditis, arrhythmias, and myocardial damage, the vasculature is affected in COVID-19, both directly by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and indirectly as a result of a systemic inflammatory cytokine storm. ⋯ Here, the Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology together with the Council of Basic Cardiovascular Science of the European Society of Cardiology provide a Position Statement on the importance of the endothelium in the underlying pathophysiology behind the clinical presentation in COVID-19 and identify key questions for future research to address. We propose that endothelial biomarkers and tests of function (e.g. flow-mediated dilatation) should be evaluated for their usefulness in the risk stratification of COVID-19 patients. A better understanding of the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on endothelial biology in both the micro- and macrovasculature is required, and endothelial function testing should be considered in the follow-up of convalescent COVID-19 patients for early detection of long-term cardiovascular complications.
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Cardiovascular research · Dec 2020
SARS-CoV-2 infects and induces cytotoxic effects in human cardiomyocytes.
Coronavirus disease 2019 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has emerged as a global pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to elevated markers of cardiac injury associated with higher risk of mortality. It is unclear whether cardiac injury is caused by direct infection of cardiomyocytes or is mainly secondary to lung injury and inflammation. Here, we investigate whether cardiomyocytes are permissive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. ⋯ This study demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 infects cardiomyocytes in vitro in an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2- and cathepsin-dependent manner. SARS-CoV-2 infection of cardiomyocytes is inhibited by the antiviral drug remdesivir.