(Cor et Vasa special issue focused on COVID-19 pandemic)

Michael Aschermann

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):8 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.056  

(COVID-19 from the infectologist's point of view)

Jiří Beneš

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):9 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.040  

(Facts and thoughts on COVID-19 pandemic)

Petr Widimský

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):11-14 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.044  

COVID-19 disease surprised many countries and found their health care services unprepared for such acute pandemic. The large differences in case load and death rates between different states remain even after per capita calculation (e.g. New York State has 36× more COVID-19 deaths than the Czech Republic). This new pandemic will have indirect effects also on practice of cardiovascular medicine. Several drugs for COVID-19 treatment are currently tested in clinical trials, but so far none of them was shown to be really effective, disease modifying.

(Specific SARS-CoV-2 myocarditis - does it exist?)

Jan Krejčí

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):15-18 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.042  

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a number of questions that do not have yet a clear answer. One of them is also the etiology of acute myocardial injury, which may be manifested only by troponin level elevation, but sometimes may be associated with the development of left ventricular dysfunction accompanied by symptoms of heart failure. Patients with myocardial injury have been reported to have a worse prognosis than patients with normal troponin levels. It is not clear whether this is the cause of a poor prognosis or the result of a severe course of the disease. It is also not clear what is the etiology of this condition. One of the possibilities is...

(COVID-19 in disorders of pulmonary circulation)

Pavel Jansa, Michael Aschermann

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):19-21 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.043  

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has number of cardiovascular implications, including pulmonary circulation disorders. The lack of the evidence limits the current understanding of the disease. Several publications demonstrate not so high prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). One of the possible explanations of this phenomenon could be vasodilatation, anti-remodelling, and anti-aggregation effect of specific therapy used in PAH. There are several ways in which the COVID-19 disease may increase the incidence of thromboembolic...

(Coagulopathy accompanying severe forms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) - incidence of thrombotic complications, how to prevent and treat them)

Debora Karetová, Jan Bultas

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):22-26 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.045  

COVID-19 coronavirus infection has a number of clinical manifestations. More serious course is accompanied by hypercoagulation status and endothelial damage, with a higher risk of venous thrombotic and thromboembolic complications (VTE). These complications significantly increase the risk of death. The incidence of VTE at COVID-19 differs in subpopulations, could be present in a quarter to a third of hospitalized patients. Conversely, thrombotic events in the arterial bed (myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke or peripheral embolism) occur in about 5% of patients with a serious course. In the pathogenesis of thromboembolic disease many factors are...

(Treatment with ACE inhibitors and AT1-blockers during the COVID-19 pandemic)

Jiří Veselý

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):27-32 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.047  

In the context of an ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19, most experts have noticed that the SARS-CoV-2 enters cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 protein, which plays an important role in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. This, together with the finding that the COVID-19 disease is more common in patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease, has led to the hypothesis of a potential adverse effect of ACE inhibitors and AT1-blockers on the risk of COVID-19 and its course. This was followed by a rapid response from a number of professional societies, emphasizing the clearly confirmed benefits of this treatment...

(Working in the cathlab during COVID-19 pandemic)

Ivo Varvařovský, Martin Mates, Ivo Bernat, Marian Branny, Pavel Červinka, David Horák, Petr Kala, Petr Kmoníček, Viktor Kočka, Tomáš Kovárník, Ladislav Pešl, Josef Šťásek, Michael Želízko

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):34-36 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.041  

The review reflects attitude of the Czech Interventional Cardiology Association to the invasive treatment of heart diseases during COVID-19 pandemic. Primary angioplasty is preferred for the treatment of STEMI and NSTEMI with ongoing ischemia without considering patient's COVID status. All other patients are tested for COVID minimally 48 hours before hospital or outpatient department admission. In view of the fact that pandemic development in the Czech Republic seems to be favorable, most of the cathlabs are progressively returning to standard care to shorten the period of badly accessible invasive procedures.

Early antithrombotic therapy and COVID-19: a better clinical course? New evidences from real-life cases

Matteo Casale, Egidio Imbalzano, Claudia Morabito, Marianna Gigliotti De Fazio, Pasquale Crea, Maurizio Mezzetti, Paolo Busacca, Michele Correale, Salvatore Santo Signorelli, Giuseppe Dattilo

Cor Vasa 2020, 62(Suppl. 1):37-40 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2020.053  

The recent COVID-19 carries potential risk factors for VTE and worse clinical course in some patients has an association with thrombosis. While low molecular weight heparins are under investigation for appropriate dosage, other elements could be useful. We share our experience about two patients with unexpected clinical course.