Cardiac complications in patients hospitalised with COVID-19

Linschoten, M.; Peters, S.; Smeden, M. van; Jewbali, L.S.; Schaap, J.; Siebelink, H.M.; ... ; CAPACITY-COVID Collaborative Conso (2020)

Article / Letter to editor

Aims:To determine the frequency and pattern of cardiac complications in patients hospitalised with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).Methods and results:CAPACITY-COVID is an international patient registry established to determine the role of cardiovascular disease in the COVID-19 pandemic. In this registry, data generated during routine clinical practice are collected in a standardised manner for patients with a (highly suspected) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection requiring hospitalisation. For the current analysis, consecutive patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 registered between 28 March and 3 July 2020 were included. Patients were followed for the occurrence of cardiac complications and pulmonary embolism from admission to discharge. In total, 3011 patients were included, of which 1890 (62.8%) were men. The median age was 67 years (interquartile range 56-76); 937 (31.0%) patients had a history of cardiac disease, with pre-existent coronary artery disease being most common (n=463, 15.4%). During hospitalisation, 595 (19.8%) patients died, including 16 patients (2.7%) with cardiac causes. Cardiac complications were diagnosed in 349 (11.6%) patients, with atrial fibrillation (n=142, 4.7%) being most common. The incidence of other cardiac complications was 1.8% for heart failure (n=55), 0.5% for acute coronary syndrome (n=15), 0.5% for ventricular arrhythmia (n=14), 0.1% for bacterial endocarditis (n=4) and myocarditis (n=3), respectively, and 0.03% for pericarditis (n=1). Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed in 198 (6.6%) patients.Conclusion:This large study among 3011 hospitalised patients with COVID-19 shows that the incidence of cardiac complications during hospital admission is low, despite a frequent history of cardiovascular disease. Long-term cardiac outcomes and the role of pre-existing cardiovascular disease in COVID-19 outcome warrants further investigation.

• COVID-19
• coronavirus
• cohorts
• patient registry
• cardiac complications
• pulmonary embolism

• All authors: Linschoten, M.; Peters, S.; Smeden, M. van; Jewbali, L.S.; Schaap, J.; Siebelink, H.M.; Smits, P.C.; Tieleman, R.G.; Harst, P. van der; Gilst, W.H. van; Asselbergs, F.W.; CAPACITY-COVID Collaborative Conso
• Date: 2020-12-01
• Journal: European Heart Journal – Acute CardioVascular Care
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 817 - 823
• DOI: doi:10.1177/2048872620974605
• Link: https://academic.oup.com/ehjacc/article/9/8/817/6125596