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At the heart of COVID‐19
Author(s) -
Khan Inayat Hussain,
Zahra Syeda Anum,
Zaim Sevim,
Harky Amer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/jocs.14596
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , pandemic , disease , intensive care medicine , mechanism (biology) , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , philosophy , epistemology
Coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) first presented in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019. Since then, it has rapidly spread across the world, and is now formally considered a pandemic. The disease does not discriminate but increasing age and the presence of comorbidities are associated with severe form of the disease and poor outcomes. Although the prevalence of COVID‐19 in patients with cardiovascular disease is under‐reported, there is evidence that pre‐existing cardiac disease can render individuals vulnerable. It is thought that COVID‐19 may have both a direct and indirect effect on the cardiovascular system; however, the primary mechanism of underlying cardiovascular involvement is still uncertain. Of particular interest is the role of angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2, which is well known for its cardiovascular effects and is also considered to be important in the pathogenesis of COVID‐19. With a range of different drug candidates being suggested, effective anti‐virals and vaccines are an area of on‐going research. While our knowledge of COVID‐19 continues to rapidly expand, this review highlights recent advances in our understanding of the interaction between COVID‐19 and the cardiovascular system.