Al “cuore” del quadro clinico di COVID-19
To the “heart” of the clinical picture of COVID-19

AUTORI

ABSTRACT

To the “heart” of the clinical picture of COVID-19

Several studies document cardiac involvement in COVID-19 patients, as evidenced by cardiac biomarkers elevation. Hospitalized patients with cardiac involvement have a poorer prognosis, in terms of need for intensive care unit, or mortality. This paper provides a review of the wealth of literature on heart involvement in COVID 19. The majority of the available papers reports data from the Chinese experience and it is not clear at the moment whether the observations are related to really different populations of patients. The mechanism of the cardiac injury is likely multifactorial. There could be direct myocardial damage by the virus, but the few heart histologic specimens available do not evidence the presence of virus RNA in myocytes. The infection in the lungs may produce a cytokine storm which in turn could damage myocytes. Coagulation system is also affected by COVID-19: D-dimer is increased, while platelets are reduced in most studies, and both parameters relate directly with the risk of death. These alterations are probably the cause of the many cases of pulmonary embolism, venous thromboembolisms, and arterial embolism reported. Hypertension and previous cardiovascular diseases are also likely involved in the severity of the observed cardiac injury. Although all these mechanisms may play a role in cardiac involvement, the severe lung infection alone could justify cardiac damage, due to the simultaneous reduced supply and increased demand of myocardial oxygen. We still know very little about this new viral disease, but as knowledge is accumulating, the medical community will pinpoint the mechanism of cardiac involvement and find the optimal strategy to prevent its severe consequences.

BIBLIOGRAFIA