Why COVID-19 ICU Patients may Face Risk of Heart Issues
Why COVID-19 ICU Patients may Face Risk of Heart Issues
Why COVID-19 ICU Patients may Face Risk of Heart Issues
A new study
suggests that COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICU) are more likely
to suffer from cardiac arrests or arrhythmias caused by systemic issues.
Shat Research
suggests that systemic inflammation in response to severe cases of COVID-19 may
be responsible for heart attacks and arrhythmias.
New research
found that COVID-19 patients in ICU were 10 times more likely to
experience arrhythmias (irregular
heart rhythms) than COVID-19 patients hospitalized but not admitted to ICU.
The study found
that cardiac arrests — a condition in which the heart stops beating suddenly —
and arrhythmias in ICU were the consequence of a systemic form of COVID-19,
rather than the direct effect of infection with the virus that causes the
disease.
The research,
published in the journal Heart Rhythm,
may help clinicians better treat and manage patients in ICU with COVID-19.
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While the global
COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating, scientists continue to gather
real-world data on how the virus affects people who contract it.
Gathering good
quality data is essential to help scientists find effective treatments that
could help people avoid infection, kill the virus, or minimize its effects on
the human body.
Initial
reports from Wuhan, China, the site of origin of the virus, suggested
that all patients who contracted COVID-19 were at higher risk of arrhythmias,
which can lead to cardiac arrests, and other serious heart issues.
Researchers
believe that cardiac arrests and arrhythmias are likely the consequence of
systemic issues, not solely the direct effect of COVID-19 infection.
However, as
scientists gather new data, it now seems that patients admitted to ICU with a
severe, life threatening case of COVID-19 are at significantly higher risk of
serious heart issues.
These are the key
findings of new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University
of Pennsylvania.
According to the
study’s senior author, Dr. Rajat Deo, a cardiac electrophysiologist and
associate professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Penn, “[i]n order to best
protect and treat patients who develop COVID-19, it’s critical for us to
improve our understanding of how the disease affects various organs and
pathways within our body — including our heart rhythm abnormalities.”
“Our findings
suggest that non-cardiac causes, such as systemic infection, inflammation, and
illness, are likely to contribute more to the occurrence of cardiac arrest and
arrhythmias than damaged or infected heart cells due to the viral infection.”
– Dr. Rajat Deo
To determine the
risk of cardiac arrests, arrhythmias, and other severe heart issues in COVID-19
patients, the researchers studied data from 700 COVID-19 patients admitted to
the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from early March to mid-May.
The researchers
took a range of data, including possible comorbidities for heart issues, other
general demographic information, and each patient’s vitals, treatment, and test
results. The patients had an average age of 50, and Black patients made up 71%
of the cohort.
During the study
window, the researchers found that 53 patients had arrhythmic events. These
included 25 incidents of atrial fibrillation that
required treatment, nine incidents of bradyarrhythmias, and 10
ventricular tachycardia events.
Of the 700
patients, 11% required admission to the ICU. Of these people, nine experienced
a cardiac arrest.
In general, after
factoring in demographic variables and comorbidities, the researchers found
that the patients admitted to ICU were more likely to experience arrhythmias
and cardiac arrests than those hospitalized with COVID-19 but not requiring
intensive care.
The researchers
noted that a limitation of the study included its focus on a single urban
hospital. This means they may not be able to apply their findings to other
populations.
They were also
unable to determine the long-term consequences of arrhythmias for COVID-19
patients.
Dr. Deo adds,
“[m]ore research is needed to assess whether the presence of cardiac
arrhythmias has long-term health effects on patients hospitalized for
COVID-19.”
“In the meantime,”
he points out, “it’s important that we launch studies to evaluate the most
effective and safest strategies for long-term anticoagulation and rhythm
management in this population.”
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