European Society of Cardiology guidance for the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: part 1—epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis
The Task Force for the management of COVID-19 of the European Society of Cardiology, Colin Baigent, Stephan Windecker, Daniele Andreini, Elena Arbelo, Emanuele Barbato, Antonio L. Bartorelli, Andreas Baumbach, Elijah R. Behr, Sérgio Berti, Héctor Bueno, Davide Capodanno, Riccardo Cappato, Alaide Chieffo, Jean‐Philippe Collet, Thomas Cuisset, Giovanni de Simone, Victoria Delgado, Paul Dendale, Dariusz Dudek, Thor Edvardsen, Arif Elvan, José Ramón González‐Juanatey, Mauro Gori, Diederick E. Grobbee, Tomasz J Guzik, Sigrun Halvorsen, Michael Haude, Hein Heidbüchel, Gerhard Hindricks, Borja Ibáñez, Nicole Karam, Hugo A. Katus, Frederikus A. Klok, Stavros Konstantinides, Ulf Landmesser, Christophe Leclercq, Sergio Leonardi, Maddalena Lettino, Giancarlo Marenzi, Josepa Mauri, Marco Metra, Nuccia Morici, Christian Mueller, Anna Sonia Petronio, Marija Polovina, Tatjana Potpara, Fabien Praz, Bernard Prendergast, Eva Prescott, Susanna Price, Piotr Pruszczyk, Oriol Rodríguez‐Leor, Marco Roffi, Rafael Romaguera, Stephan Rosenkranz, Andrea Sarkozy, Martijn Scherrenberg, Petar Seferović, Michele Senni, Francesco Raffaele Spera, Giulio Stefanini, Hölger Thiele, Daniela Tomasoni, Lucia Torracca, Rhian M. Touyz, Arthur A.M. Wilde, Bryan Williams
Abstract
AIMS: Since its emergence in early 2020, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reached pandemic levels, and there have been repeated outbreaks across the globe. The aim of this two-part series is to provide practical knowledge and guidance to aid clinicians in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in association with COVID-19. METHODS AND RESULTS: A narrative literature review of the available evidence has been performed, and the resulting information has been organized into two parts. The first, reported here, focuses on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis of cardiovascular (CV) conditions that may be manifest in patients with COVID-19. The second part, which will follow in a later edition of the journal, addresses the topics of care pathways, treatment, and follow-up of CV conditions in patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: This comprehensive review is not a formal guideline but rather a document that provides a summary of current knowledge and guidance to practicing clinicians managing patients with CVD and COVID-19. The recommendations are mainly the result of observations and personal experience from healthcare providers. Therefore, the information provided here may be subject to change with increasing knowledge, evidence from prospective studies, and changes in the pandemic. Likewise, the guidance provided in the document should not interfere with recommendations provided by local and national healthcare authorities.