COVID-19 associated atrial fibrillation: Incidence, putative mechanisms and potential clinical implications

Monika Gawałko; Agnieszka Kapłon-Cieślicka; Mathias Hohl; Dobromir Dobrev; Dominik Linz

doi:10.1016/j.ijcha.2020.100631

COVID-19 associated atrial fibrillation: Incidence, putative mechanisms and potential clinical implications

Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. 2020 Oct:30:100631. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcha.2020.100631. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

Authors

Monika Gawałko^{1

2}, Agnieszka Kapłon-Cieślicka¹, Mathias Hohl³, Dobromir Dobrev⁴, Dominik Linz^{2

5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ 1st Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
² Department of Cardiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
³ Klinik für Innere Medizin III, Universität des Saarlandes, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Pharmacology, West German Heart and Vascular Center, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
⁵ Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
⁶ Department of Cardiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel, highly transmittable and severe strain disease, which has rapidly spread worldwide. Despite epidemiological evidence linking COVID-19 with cardiovascular diseases, little is known about whether and how COVID-19 influences atrial fibrillation (AF), the most prevalent arrhythmia in clinical practice. Here, we review the available evidence for prevalence and incidence of AF in patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and discuss disease management approaches and potential treatment options for COVID-19 infected AF patients.

Keywords: Anticoagulation; Arrhythmia; Inflammasome; Remote monitoring; Thromboembolic risk.

Publication types

Review