Researchers have found that COVID-19 patients with cardiovascular comorbidities or risk factors are more likely to die from the virus.
They said that such patients are more likely to develop heart complications while hospitalised.
The study published in the journal PLOS ONE further said that it is crucial for clinicians working with cardiovascular patients to understand the clinical presentation and risk factors for COVID-19 infection in this group.
“For most people, the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) causes mild illness, however, it can generate severe pneumonia and lead to death in others,” said the researchers from the Magna Graecia University in Italy.
The research team in the new study analysed data from 21 published observational studies on a total of 77,317 hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Asia, Europe and the US.
The study revealed that at the time when they were admitted to the hospital, 12.89 per cent had cardiovascular comorbidities, 36.08 per cent had hypertension and 19.45 per cent had diabetes.
The findings showed that cardiovascular complications were documented during the hospital stay of 14.09 per cent of Covid-19 patients.
The researchers further said that the most common of these complications were arrhythmias or palpitations; significant numbers of patients also had a myocardial injury.
“Cardiovascular complications are frequent among Covid-19 patients and might contribute to adverse clinical events and mortality,” the researchers added.