Fig. 2: Bidirectional interaction between cardiovascular diseases and COVID-19.
From: COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease: from basic mechanisms to clinical perspectives
Cardiovascular comorbidities such as hypertension and coronary artery disease are associated with high mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Drugs used to reduce cardiovascular risk such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) have numerous effects that might influence susceptibility to or the severity of COVID-19. Furthermore, although the main presentation of COVID-19 is viral pneumonia, COVID-19 can also induce cardiovascular manifestations including myocardial injury, myocarditis, arrhythmias, acute coronary syndrome and thromboembolism. Among these cardiovascular manifestations, myocardial injury has been independently associated with high mortality among patients with COVID-19 (ref.23). Finally, medications that have been proposed as treatments for COVID-19 such as hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin have pro-arrhythmic effects. AF, atrial fibrillation; VF, ventricular fibrillation; VT, ventricular tachycardia.
