Cardiac Manifestations of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Comprehensive Review

Tahir, Faryal; Bin Arif, Taha; Ahmed, Jawad; Malik, Farheen; Khalid, Muhammad

Since its origin in China, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has become a pandemic and spread to 209 countries. As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a very rapidly emerging disease, organ-specific studies related to it have been reported. Apart from respiratory findings, some studies have highlighted inflammatory consequences in the heart, kidney, and/or liver as well. Cardiac involvement in COVID-19 seems to be a result of an inflammatory storm in response to the infection. Moreover, direct viral invasion of cardiomyocytes, as well as a myocardial injury due to oxidative stress, may account for acute cardiac injury in COVID-19. Nevertheless, the mechanism of heart injury in COVID-19 is not clear yet. However, multiple studies that highlight the clinical features, laboratory findings, and prognosis of acute myocardial injury (AMI) in COVID-19-affected individuals have been published. In this review, we have summarized the findings of all those studies as well as the clinical features and management of cardiac injury discussed by some case reports.