Open AccessThe Deadly Quartet (Covid-19, Old Age, Lung Disease, and Heart Failure) Explains Why Coronavirus-Related Mortality in Northern Italy Was So High
Author(s) -
Giuseppe Calcaterra,
Pier Paolo Bassareo,
Francesco Barillà,
Domenico Sergi,
Marcello Chiocchi,
Francesco Romeo,
Jawahar L. Mehta
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
current cardiology reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1875-6557
pISSN - 1573-403X
DOI - 10.2174/1573403x16666200731162614
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , outbreak , disease , coronavirus , population , clarity , demography , virology , environmental health , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biochemistry , chemistry , sociology
Since its outbreak in China at the end of 2019, the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was characterized by both easy spreading and high mortality. The latter proved to be way more elevated in the North of Italy -with a peak of 18.4% in region Lombardia and even 31% in the city of Bergamo and surrounding county- than in the rest of the world. In an attempt to conceptualize the reasons for such a dramatic situation, four key elements have been identified: COVID-19 itself, old age, lung disease, and heart failure. Their harmful combination has been named "The deadly quartet". The underlying risk factors, among which a lot of them are distinctive features of the population in northern Italy, have been summarized as "unmodifiable", "partially modifiable", and "modifiable", for the sake of clarity. Up-to-date scientific evidence in this field has been described in the form of a narrative and easy-to-read review.