Myocardial Infarction in Patients with and without COVID-19: Comparisons of Characteristics, Clinical Courses, and Outcomes

Hossein Sheibani; Mehran Gheshlaghi; Somayeh Shah Hosseini; Mojgan Javedani Masroor; Salman Daliri

doi:10.18502/jthc.v18i1.12577

Hossein Sheibani Clinical Research Development Unit, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
Mehran Gheshlaghi Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
Somayeh Shah Hosseini Imam Hossein Center for Education, Research and Treatment, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.
Mojgan Javedani Masroor Shahid Akbar Abadi Clinical Research Development Unit, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Salman Daliri Clinical Research Development Unit, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jthc.v18i1.12577

Keywords: Myocardial infarction; COVID-19; Cardiac arrhythmia; Pneumonia; SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has rapidly become a global health emergency. This infection can cause damage to various organs. Injury to myocardial cells is one of the salient manifestations of COVID-19. The clinical course and outcome of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are influenced by various factors, including comorbidities and concomitant diseases. One of these acute concomitant diseases is COVID-19, which can affect the clinical course and outcome of acute myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: The present cross-sectional study compared the clinical course and outcome of MI and some of its practical factors between patients with and without COVID-19. The study population consisted of 180 patients (129 males and 51 females) diagnosed with acute MI. Eighty patients had COVID-19 infection concurrently.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 65.62 years. The frequencies of non–ST-elevation MI (vs ST-elevation MI), lower ejection fractions (<30), and arrhythmias were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group than in the non–COVID-19 group (P=0.006, 0.003, and P<0.001, respectively). The single-vessel disease was the most frequent angiographic result in the COVID-19 group, while the double-vessel disease was the most frequent angiographic result in the non–COVID-19 group (P<0.001).

Conclusion: It appears that patients with ACS who are co-infected with COVID-19 infection need essential care.