Cardiac Manifestations of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Excerpt

Coronaviruses are a large family of single positive-stranded, enveloped RNA viruses that can infect many animal species and humans. Human coronaviruses can be divided based on their pathogenicity. The types with high pathogenicity including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and the current novel SARS-CoV2. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to possibly the worst pandemic of this century in the form of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Initially recognized as a respiratory system disease, COVID-19 has been found to interact with and affect the cardiovascular system leading to myocardial damage and cardiac and endothelial dysfunction mainly via the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor.In fact, cardiac damage has been noted even without clinical features of respiratory disease. On the one hand, respiratory symptoms are worse in COVID-19 affected patients with preexisting cardiac ailments; however, new-onset cardiac dysfunction is common in this subset. In fact, cardiac damage has been noted even without clinical features of respiratory disease. On the one hand, respiratory symptoms are worse in COVID-19 affected patients with preexisting cardiac ailments; however, new-onset cardiac dysfunction is common in this subset.