By Amy Orciari Herman
Cardiac injury is a common complication among those hospitalized with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and it’s associated with significantly increased mortality risk, according to a retrospective study in JAMA Cardiology.
Researchers studied over 400 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Some 20% had cardiac injury, defined as elevated cardiac biomarkers (e.g., high-sensitivity troponin). Fourteen patients underwent electrocardiography while their biomarkers were elevated, and all had evidence of myocardial ischemia.
Overall, patients with cardiac injury were more likely than those without cardiac injury to require noninvasive ventilation (46% vs. 4%) and invasive ventilation (22% vs. 4%). Cardiac-injury patients also had a higher mortality rate (51% vs. 5%). After adjustment for confounders, including acute respiratory distress syndrome, cardiac injury remained a significant predictor of mortality.
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