Cardiovascular sequelae of COVID-19 - the role of family medicine doctor

Abstract:

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has numerous extrapulmonary clinical manifestations, including cardiovascular ones. Some of them can appear while the person is infected, and some can appear after the COVID-19 recovery. The most dangerous are those cardiovascular complications that are not timely recognized, until they significantly impair the function of the heart and threaten the patient's life. This article reviews cardiovascular consequences caused by the disease COVID-19. Although these symptoms and syndromes can appear post-infectiously unrelated to COVID-19, they have become significantly more frequent and prominent due to the pandemic. The aim of this article is to inform primarily the family medicine doctors, as well as other specialists, about COVID-19 cardiovascular sequelae, their early detection and the patients care and monitoring.

Key words:
cardiovascular diseases; COVID-19; family practice; health promotion; patient education; post-acute COVID- 19 syndrome; SARS-CoV-2