Impact of COVID-19 on Cardiovascular Patients and Review of Current COVID-19 Treatment Strategies
Dalal A. Alfawaz *
Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Alfawaz
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ali M. Almutawa
Ministry Of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has severely affected global health and caused a significant health burden worldwide, particularly in patients with cardiovascular insult. Worldwide, the COVID-19 confirmed cases number reached 81,658,440 cases with 1,802,206 deaths stated to the world health organization by January 1, 2021. Many risk factors, such as the elderly, diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and cardiovascular illness, like coronary disease, cardiomyopathy, and hypertension; put people at high vulnerability with COVID-19 infection. Many cardiovascular insults directly occur because of COVID-19 infection as myocarditis, pericarditis, heart failure, myocardial infarction, thromboembolic events, or arrhythmias. This review aims to shed light on different management modalities for COVID-19 and discuss the impact of COVID-19 on underlying cardiovascular comorbidities. Our hope lies in the COVID-19 vaccine as the best promising plan against the pandemic with the antiviral medications. Till the availability of antiviral agents and effective vaccines, repurposing drugs therapy would continue to be the mainstream. Cardiovascular diseases may be caused by or precedent conditions in COVID-19 patients. The physicians and the medical staff should be up-to-date regarding probable complications with COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, cardiovascular, treatment, review.