Scientists alert COVID-19 can cause serious cardiovascular problems

COVID-19 can cause serious cardiovascular complications including heart failure, heart attacks and blood clots that can lead to strokes, scientists have warned. The researchers from the University of Virginia (UVA) in the US also cautioned that COVID-19 treatments can interact with medicines used to manage patients' existing cardiovascular conditions.

The article, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, aims to serve as a guide for emergency-medicine doctors treating patients who may have or are known to have COVID-19.

The authors note that much attention has been paid to the breathing complications of COVID-19, but less has been said about the cardiovascular complications that can lead to death or lasting impairment.

"As we encounter more and more patients with COVID-19-related illness, we are increasing our understanding of its impact on the body in general and the cardiovascular system in particular," said William Brady, of UVA's Department of Emergency



Medicine.

The researchers noted that heart failure is a particular concern in patients with COVID-19.

One study, the authors note, found that almost a quarter of COVID-19 patients -- 24 per cent -- were suffering acute heart failure when they were first diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The authors state that it remains unclear if the heart failure was the result of COVID-19 specifically or if the virus was worsening undiagnosed heart failure.

Of the patients with heart failure, nearly half were not known to have high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, they said.

The report also noted that COVID-19, and other diseases that cause severe inflammation throughout the body, increase the risk that fatty plaque built up in the blood vessels will rupture, leading to heart attacks and stroke.

It's important for doctors to bear these interactions in mind when treating patients with COVID-19, the authors noted.