Prevalence and Clinical Implications of COVID-19 Myocarditis

Cristina Chimenti; Michele Magnocavallo; Federico Ballatore; Federico Bernardini; Maria Alfarano; Domenico G Della Rocca; Paolo Severino; Carlo Lavalle; Fedele Francesco; Andrea Frustaci

doi:10.1016/j.ccep.2021.11.001

Prevalence and Clinical Implications of COVID-19 Myocarditis

Card Electrophysiol Clin. 2022 Mar;14(1):53-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ccep.2021.11.001. Epub 2021 Nov 9.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiovascular/Respiratory Diseases, Nephrology, Anesthesiology, and Geriatric Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Cellular and Molecular Cardiology Lab, IRCCS L. Spallanzani, Rome 00149, Italy. Electronic address: cristina.chimenti@uniroma1.it.
² Department of Cardiovascular/Respiratory Diseases, Nephrology, Anesthesiology, and Geriatric Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
³ Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, 3000 North IH-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX 78705, USA.
⁴ Department of Cardiovascular/Respiratory Diseases, Nephrology, Anesthesiology, and Geriatric Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Cellular and Molecular Cardiology Lab, IRCCS L. Spallanzani, Rome 00149, Italy.

Abstract

The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are widely variable and may involve several districts. Although the clinical course is mostly characterized by respiratory involvement, up to 30% of hospitalized patients have evidence of myocardial injury due to acute coronary syndrome, cardiac arrhythmias, myocarditis, and cardiogenic shock. In particular, myocarditis is a well-recognized severe complication of COVID-19 and is associated with fulminant cardiogenic shock and sudden cardiac death. In this article, the authors aim to present a comprehensive review about COVID-19-related myocarditis, including clinical characteristics, diagnostic workup, and management.

Keywords: Arrhythmias; COVID-19; Myocardial damage; Myocarditis; SARS-CoV-2; Vascular damage.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Arrhythmias, Cardiac / complications
COVID-19* / complications
Humans
Myocarditis* / complications
Myocarditis* / diagnosis
Myocarditis* / epidemiology
Prevalence
SARS-CoV-2