Coronavirus Disease 2019: Cardiac Complications and Considerations for Returning to Sports Participation.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. While the majority of symptoms and morbidity relate to the lung, cardiac complications have been well reported and confer increased mortality. Many countries in Europe have passed the peak of the pandemic and adaptations are being made as we progress towards a 'new normal'. As part of this, governments have been planning strategies for the return of elite sports. This article summarises the potential implications of COVID-19 for athletes returning to sport, including common cardiac complications of the disease; consensus recommendations for the return to sport after having COVID-19; and international recommendations for the management of cardiac pathology that may occur as a result of COVID-19. The authors also examine the potential overlap of pathology with physiological change seen in athletes' hearts.

Patent foramen ovale.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is the most common anatomical cause of an interatrial shunt. It is usually asymptomatic but may cause paradoxical embolism, manifesting as stroke, myocardial infarction or visceral/peripheral ischaemia. PFO is a risk factor for stroke and may be associated with migraine with aura. New evidence suggests PFO closure reduces the risk of recurrent ischaemic stroke in a highly selected population of stroke survivors: those aged 60 years or younger with a cryptogenic stroke syndrome, a large right-to-left shunt, an atrial septal aneurysm and no evidence of atrial fibrillation. They benefit from percutaneous PFO closure in addition to antiplatelet therapy, rather than antiplatelet therapy alone. Current evidence does not support PFO closure in the treatment of migraine.

Accuracy of the 2017 international recommendations for clinicians who interpret adolescent athletes' ECGs: a cohort study of 11 168 British white and black soccer players.

AIM: To investigate the accuracy of the recently published international recommendations for ECG interpretation in young athletes in a large cohort of white and black adolescent soccer players. METHODS: 11 168 soccer players (mean age 16.4±1.2 years) were evaluated with a health questionnaire, ECG and echocardiogram; 10 581 (95%) of the players were male and 10 163 (91%) were white. ECGs were retrospectively analysed according to (1) the 2010 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommendations, (2) Seattle criteria, (3) refined criteria and (4) the international recommendations for ECG interpretation in young athletes. RESULTS: The ESC recommendations resulted in a higher number of abnormal ECGs compared with the Seattle, refined and international criteria (13.2%, 4.3%, 2.9% and 1.8%, respectively). All four criteria were associated with a higher prevalence of abnormal ECGs in black athletes compared with white athletes (ESC: 16.2% vs 12.9%; Seattle: 5.9% vs 4.2%; refined: 3.8% vs 2.8%; international 3.6% vs 1.6%; p<0.001 each). Compared with ESC recommendations, the Seattle, refined and international criteria identified a lower number of abnormal ECGs-by 67%, 78% and 86%, respectively. All four criteria identified 36 (86%) of 42 athletes with serious cardiac pathology. Compared with ESC recommendations, the Seattle criteria improved specificity from 87% to 96% in white athletes and 84% to 94% in black athletes. The international recommendations demonstrated the highest specificity for white (99%) and black (97%) athletes and a sensitivity of 86%. CONCLUSIONS: The 2017 international recommendations for ECG interpretation in young athletes can be applied to adolescent athletes to detect serious cardiac disease. These recommendations perform more effectively than previous ECG criteria in both white and black adolescent soccer players.

Emergency response facilities including primary and secondary prevention strategies across 79 professional football clubs in England.

AIM: To assess the emergency response planning and prevention strategies for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) across a wide range of professional football clubs in England. METHODS: A written survey was sent to all professional clubs in the English football league, namely the Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2. Outcomes included: (1) number of clubs performing cardiac screening and frequency of screening; (2) emergency planning and documentation; (3) automated external defibrillator (AED) training and availability; and (4) provision of emergency services at sporting venues. RESULTS: 79 clubs (86%) responded to the survey. 100% clubs participated in cardiac screening. All clubs had AEDs available on match days and during training sessions. 100% Premiership clubs provided AED training to designated staff. In contrast, 30% of lower division clubs with AEDs available did not provide formal training. Most clubs (n=66; 83%) reported the existence of an emergency action plan for SCA but formal documentation was variable. All clubs in the Premiership and League 1 provided an ambulance equipped for medical emergencies on match days compared with 75% of clubs in the Championship and 66% in League 2. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of football clubs in England have satisfactory prevention strategies and emergency response planning in line with European recommendations. Additional improvements such as increasing awareness of European guidelines for emergency planning, AED training and mentorship with financial support to lower division clubs are necessary to further enhance cardiovascular safety of athletes and spectators and close the gap between the highest and lower divisions.

Preventing stroke and assessing risk in women.

Ischaemic stroke is rare in premenopausal women but risk increases with advancing age and doubles in the ten years following the menopause. Up to the age of 75 years men have a 25% higher risk of suffering a stroke compared with women. However, the increased life expectancy of women ultimately results in a higher overall incidence. Twice as many women die from stroke compare with breast cancer. Women with cerebrovascular disease are more likely to present with atypical symptoms than men. Altered mental status (including unresponsiveness, confusion and behavioural change) is the most common nonconventional symptom, and is reported by 23% of women compared with 15% of men. Other nonconventional symptoms reported more commonly by women include face or hemibody pain, lightheadedness and headache. Atrial fibrillation (AF) and hypertension, although less common than in men, are more potent risk factors for stroke in women. Compared with men with AF, women with AF are at increased risk of ischaemic stroke (6.2% versus 4.2% per year). This increased risk persists in anticoagulated patients with a relative risk ratio of 2.0. Pregnancy is a unique risk factor for stroke in women. The risk is highest in the third trimester and peripartum period. Women with hypertension in pregnancy, whether secondary to pre-existing disease, preeclampsia or eclampsia have a six-to nine-fold increased risk of stroke compared with normotensive women. Preeclampsia doubles the risk of stroke in later life. Gestational diabetes is also associated with higher risk of stroke extending beyond childbearing years.

Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Understanding Symptoms and Risk Factors.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women remains under-diagnosed and undertreated due to the diagnostic challenge it presents, as well as the persisting attitude that CVD predominantly affects men. Gender-related risk factors have now been identified but there is a lack of clinical application, leading to the misdiagnosis and poor management of women with CVD. It is necessary to address gender-specific symptomatology and risk factors in order to optimise management and positively influence morbidity and mortality in this cohort of patients.

Underestimating risk in women delays diagnosis of CVD.

CVD remains the most common cause of mortality in women. In 2007, the annual mortality in women secondary to CAD was 4.7 times that of breast cancer. Around 2.8 million women are living with CVD in the UK. There has been an increase in the prevalence of MI in women aged 35 to 54, while a decline in prevalence was observed in age-matched men. Difficulty in evaluating symptoms of ischaemic heart disease in women is well documented and remains challenging because of their atypical nature. The main gender difference is that women tend to present less frequently with exertional symptoms of chest pain before an AMI. Although men and women share classic cardiovascular risk factors the relative importance of each risk factor may be gender specific. The impact of smoking is greater in women than men, especially in those under 50. Diabetes is a more potent risk factor for fatal CHD in women than men. Risk factors specific to women include postmenopausal status, hysterectomy and complications during pregnancy. Women who develop gestational diabetes mellitus or pre-eclampsia more than double their risk of CVD later in life. Transition to the menopause is associated with a worsening CHD risk profile. After the menopause women may experience an increase in weight, alteration in fat distribution and an increase in other CVD risk factors such as diabetes and a more adverse lipid profile. Pharmacological stress testing is preferred for diagnosing CAD in females with lower exercise capacity. Stress cardiomyopathy is triggered by intense, unexpected emotional or physical stress and is characterised by transient apical systolic dysfunction or ballooning of the left ventricle. The syndrome predominantly affects postmenopausal women. Women presenting with STEMI have worse outcomes compared with men. However, in those presenting with NSTEMI there were no differences in outcomes.

A primary cardiac sarcoma presenting with superior vena cava obstruction.

Superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction leads to a constellation of symptoms and signs that encompass the SVC syndrome. Today, malignancy accounts for 65% of all cases. The most common neoplastic causes are non­small cell lung cancer (50%), small cell lung cancer (25%), lymphoma, and metastasis. Primary cardiac tumors are an extremely rare cause of SVC obstruction. We describe the case of a 48-year-old man who presented with dyspnea, confusion, and facial swelling with cyanosis. The patient developed life-threatening airway obstruction after administration of anxiolytic. The diagnosis of SVC obstruction secondary to a primary cardiac sarcoma was established based on clinical, radiologic, and post-mortem findings. This is one of very few reported cases of a primary cardiac sarcoma causing SVC obstruction.

Regulation of myeloperoxidase-specific T cell responses during disease remission in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis: the role of Treg cells and tryptophan degradation.

OBJECTIVE: T lymphocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Patients with myeloperoxidase (MPO) antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) experience relapses less frequently than those with proteinase 3 ANCA, suggesting greater immune regulation. This study was undertaken to investigate MPO-specific T cell reactivity during disease remission and the factors regulating their responsiveness. METHODS: MPO-specific T cells were quantified by enzyme-linked immunospot assay with additional Treg cell depletion or exogenous interleukin-2. Serum tryptophan and its metabolites were measured. In vivo blockade of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) was performed, and its effect on MPO reactivity was assessed. RESULTS: During disease remission, MPO-specific interferon-gamma-producing T cell frequencies were comparable with those found in healthy controls and significantly lower than those found in patients with acute disease. CD4+CD25+ regulatory cells did not play a role in maintaining these low MPO-specific T cell frequencies, since depletion of Treg cells did not augment MPO-specific responses, and FoxP3 levels were diminished in patients compared with controls. Treg cell function, however, was comparable in patients and controls, suggesting numerical rather than functional deficiency. We found diminished serum tryptophan levels and elevated levels of its metabolite kynurenine in patients with MPO AAV as compared with controls. To confirm the effect of tryptophan degradation on MPO responses in vivo, we inhibited degradation in MPO-immunized WKY rats and found greater immune responsiveness to MPO and a tendency to more severe glomerulonephritis. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that MPO-specific T cell frequencies are regulated during disease remission in association with tryptophan degradation. The tryptophan regulatory pathway is induced during active disease and persists during disease remission.