The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on ways through which infectious diseases generally cause damage to the cardiovascular system, thereby emphasizing more detailed research into virus-induced cardiac complications. This session attempts to elucidate the complex connections that exist between COVID-19 and cardiovascular health, drawing from acute and long-term changes observed in patients of different regions. Researchers as well as clinicians will relate some findings about how viruses contribute to the worsening of an already compromised heart situation as well as the way the virus triggers new or initially healthy individuals to eventually acquire cardiovascular complications.

 

Studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection causes myocarditis, heart failure, arrhythmias, and the risk of thrombotic events. These complications were not restricted to severe cases; they also occurred in mild and asymptomatic infections. This session will discuss the possible mechanisms underlying these cardiovascular effects: viral invasion of cardiac tissue, inflammatory responses, and endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, understanding these mechanisms will be very crucial in the development of targeted treatments and prevention strategies for especially vulnerable populations, such as pre-existing heart conditions, the elderly, and obese and diabetic individuals.

 

It will include COVID-19’s long-term cardiovascular outcomes. The great majority of patients have sustaining symptoms, referred to as “long COVID,” which can impact heart health. Attendants will be informed regarding the latest scientific developments about surveillance, diagnosis, and care for managing these long-term cardiovascular complications to better serve the outcome of the patient. Working in a multi-disciplinary way, this session aspires to endow physicians with the tools and necessary knowledge to adequately handle the ongoing cardiac challenges that COVID-19 continues to present.