The following is a summary of “Acute Cardiac Events During COVID-19-Associated Hospitalizations,” published in the February 2023 issue of Cardiology by Woodruff, et al.
Cardiovascular problems are linked to COVID-19. Therefore, for a study, researchers sought to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes related to acute cardiac events among adult hospitalizations related to COVID-19.
Medical records from a probability sample of persons hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were abstracted from the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network’s 99 U.S. counties and 14 U.S. states between January 2021 and November 2021. By considering a patient’s history of underlying cardiac disease, they computed the prevalence of acute cardiac events (as defined by the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes) and looked at risk variables and medical outcomes that may be related.
11.4% (95% CI: 10.1%-12.9%) of the 8,460 adults hospitalized due to COVID-19 had an acute cardiac episode. Adults with underlying cardiac disease exhibited a greater prevalence (23.4%; 95% CI: 20.7%-26.3%) than those without (6.2%; 95% CI: 5.1%-7.6%). The most frequent occurrences were acute myocarditis or pericarditis (0.3%; 95% CI: 0.1%-0.5%), acute ischemic heart disease (5.5%; 95% CI: 4.5%-6.5%), and acute heart failure (5.4%; 95% CI: 4.4%-6.6%). The presence of underlying heart illness affected the risk factors. Patients who had ≥1 acute cardiac episode were more likely to require admission to an intensive care unit (adjusted risk ratio: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.8–2.1) and die in the hospital (adjusted risk ratio: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.3-2.1) than those who did not.
Patients with underlying cardiac disease were more likely to experience acute cardiac events during hospitalizations linked to COVID-19, and these events were linked to worse clinical outcomes. A more thorough clinical evaluation and monitoring during hospitalization may be beneficial for patients who are more likely to have acute cardiac events during hospitalizations related to COVID-19.
Reference: jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.11.044