Cardiovascular Complications in Respiratory Viral Infections with a Focus on COVID-19

Elahe Aleebrahim-Dehkordi; Mehdi Mohebalizadeh; Zahra Ganjirad; Sara Torabi; Dariush  Hooshyar; Amene Saghazadeh

doi:10.18502/igj.v6i2.16409

Elahe Aleebrahim-Dehkordi Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Expert Group (SRMEG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Shahrekord, Iran
Mehdi Mohebalizadeh School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Zahra Ganjirad Hamedan University of medical sciences, Hamedan, Iran
Sara Torabi School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Dariush Hooshyar School of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
Amene Saghazadeh Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Expert Group (SRMEG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/igj.v6i2.16409

Keywords: Cardiovascular; COVID-19; Influenza; MERS; Respiratory Viral Infections; SARS

Abstract

Patients with respiratory viral infections have altered immune responses, which may predispose them to cardiovascular complications. In the face of the pandemic of a new kind of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is a resurgence of interest in the early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of patients who are at risk. COVID-19 often manifests as viral pneumonia, although extrapulmonary manifestations are also common. Acute cardiac damage associated with elevated highsensitivity troponin levels crucially contributes to mortality in severe COVID-19. The present review clinically compares cardiovascular complications between COVID-19 and other respiratory infections caused by singlestranded RNA viruses, namely influenza, SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Estimating the death rate from RVIs has been a subject of intense research, but the mortality from cardiovascular complications in these infections is less understood and calls for further research.