A COVID-19 Patient Presenting With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Nouskas, Ioannis; Holeva, Vasiliki; Parlapani, Eleni; Nikopoulou, Vasiliki Aliki; Diakogiannis, Ioannis

The cardiovascular system is influenced in the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is not uncommon in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This is a report of an atypical presentation of a 78-year-old patient who was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. The patient, in the acute setting, was diagnosed with rapidly deteriorating cardiac failure associated with PAF, respiratory distress, and deteriorating vitals, and was eventually intubated. The mechanisms and preexisting substrates of atrial fibrillation in COVID-19 patients are discussed. A connection between arrhythmia and COVID-19, on the basis of a generalized inflammatory state, is suggested. This particular case adds to the understanding that the occurrence of PAF in COVID-19 patients is consistent with the mechanism of worse outcomes due to systemic inflammation.