MAIN CARDIAC COMPLICATIONS IN ELDERLY INFECTED BY SARS-COV-2: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

ABSTRACT

Final Considerations the appearance of this virus has caused great damage in the health field, especially the elderly population, who is at high risk of death when contracting this disease. [...]it is important to stick to the measurement of serum troponin in the target audience and perform longitudinal monitoring, using telecardiology for this purpose, since they reduce the chances of contamination between infected and health professionals. INTRODUCTION Cardiovascular diseases have long been seen as a worldwide public health problem1 and have challenged the health system to seek innovative strategies for the clinical management of patients with heart disease in order to improve the quality of life of this portion of the population, since data from the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasize the occurrence of 18 million deaths annually due to this pathology.2 Consequently, the discovery of a new virus in Hubei province, China, at the end of 2019 brought with it even more concerns in this regard, since it has the power to affect the cardiovascular system and raise the mortality rate of this community. [...]the current scenario has made the work of health professionals difficult due to the rapid transmissibility of the so-called SARS-CoV-23 that officially caused a pandemic, as decreed by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020.3 According to this health body, on September 4 of the same year the number of confirmed cases of this disease was 26,121,999 and the number of deaths, 864,618.2 Therefore, with this emergency crisis installed, this challenge has become even more difficult, since the public health system has been overburdened by an exponential number of infected individuals, unavailability of beds to meet the demand in question, lack of financial and material resources, such as mechanical ventilators and personal protective equipment, and uncertainties regarding the treatment of this disease, Covid-19, since so far no effective vaccine has been found.4 This situation has negatively impacted the lives of all individuals, especially those who have underlying heart disease and require rapid care, since the case fatality rate caused by Covid-19 is considered higher in this collectivity, reaching 10.5%.5 Thus, despite presenting a tropism for pulmonary cells, the virus has caused severe consequences in the cardiovascular system, including acute coronary syndromes, myocardial injury, myocarditis, arrhythmias, heart failure, and cardiogenic shock.6 China was the first country to show myocardial injury through the elevation of specific biomarkers, especially troponin I, in 12.2% of the first 41 confirmed cases.6-7 The main comorbidities found were heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cerebrovascular diseases8 emphasizing that these groups present the most severe form of the disease, especially when coupled with the factor advanced age, requiring treatment in Intensive Care Unit. [...]it is clear that, along with the demographic transition, there has been an increase in the life expectancy of individuals in this age group;however, parallel to this fact, the number of chronic noncommunicable diseases has increased, which is worrisome, since the mortality rate from Covid-19 can be 9 times higher in chronic patients. [...]a prospective cohort study conducted at Renmin University Hospital in January, China, included the participation of 416 patients with a mean age of 64 years and showed that most of them were hypertensive and diabetic, elucidating the appearance of acute myocardial injury in 19.7% of this population, triggered by coronavirus13.