Early Signs Of COVID-19 May Be Almost Indistinguishable From Symptoms Of Heart Disease

Early signs of COVID-19 may be almost indistinguishable from symptoms of heart disease

In some cases, a new coronavirus infection can resemble a heart attack or cause heart failure. Doctors believe that during a pandemic, careful differential diagnosis is necessary.

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Heart symptoms may be the first manifestations of COVID-19. American scientists reported on the corresponding observations in the journal Circulation. They described four clinical cases in which cardiac manifestations were found primarily in patients with a new coronavirus infection.

In the first described case, a 64-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with chest pain and ST segment elevation on the cardiogram (a sign of myocardial infarction) in the absence of fever, cough, and other signs of COVID-19. She was diagnosed with coronavirus infection during an additional examination.

Doctors observed cardiogenic shock in the second patient. To save him, they used extracorporeal blood oxygenation (saturating it with oxygen in a special apparatus). This man initially had symptoms of COVID-19, but heart complications developed later.

A third patient, a 64-year-old woman with concomitant heart disease, developed cardiac decompensation against the background of the onset of COVID-19: the heart stopped doing its job, symptoms of circulatory failure (severe shortness of breath, limited activity, fluid in the pleural cavity) appeared.

The fourth patient described by the scientists underwent a heart transplant in 2007 and a kidney transplant in 2010. His symptoms were similar to those described for immunosuppressed COVID-19 patients without fever. This patient was taking appropriate medications to prevent transplant rejection. He did not develop a serious illness and was discharged a week later.

The study authors believe that typical heart symptoms in the current pandemic need to be differentiated from COVID-19. Scientists emphasize that the current pandemic creates many difficult situations for doctors that relate to both the diagnosis of COVID-19 and the fight against cardiac symptoms against the background of this pathology.

Previously, it was already known about the connection of COVID-19 with myocardial damage.

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