Title : Cardiovascular alterations and clinical consequences of covid-19 infection

In addition to the typical pulmonary complications, COVID-19 infection is associated in 5%–20% of cases with cardiac abnormalities consistent with acute myocardial injury, which worsen the clinical course and prognosis of affected patients, including increased need for intensive care and higher mortality. Pre-existing comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and other conditions, further increase the risk and adversely affect prognosis. The diagnostic criteria are those commonly used for cardiovascular diseases and include electrocardiography, cardiac biomarkers, and imaging techniques such as echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The pathogenesis of myocardial injury is multifactorial and is secondary to hypoxia combined with increased myocardial oxygen demand, the massive release of inflammatory mediators through autoimmune mechanisms, including molecular mimicry, and a procoagulant state. In addition to this “direct” injury, the pandemic also caused indirect cardiovascular harm through the reduction and/or delay of care, diagnosis, follow-up, and cardiovascular prevention programs, thereby affecting cardiovascular management in many patients. The long-term effects of COVID-19 infection remain even less well investigated. The terms post-COVID and long COVID are used to describe persistent or delayed effects occurring 3–12 weeks after infection, including fatigue, dyspnea, and orthostatic intolerance, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, as well as other less frequent symptoms listed by the World Health Organization. Vaccines have largely reduced cardiovascular complications and mortality itself in affected patients; conversely, they have led to only modest adverse events in a very small percentage of vaccinated individuals, including young people and children. However, clinical and instrumental follow-up of the clinical complications described after COVID infection should be intensified in order to reduce their impact on prognosis.

Born June 11, 1955, at Copertino, Lecce, Italy, he graduated in Medicine from Padua University, Italy, in 1980 and completed his Specialization in Cardiology at Padua University in 1984. He also obtained additional Specializations in Nutrition Science and Dietology in 1987 and Sports Medicina in 1990. He served as a Visiting Doctor at Harvard Medical School in 1992 and again during 1997–98. He worked as a Cardiologist at the Cardiac Unit of Regional Hospitals (Padova, Rovigo, Vicenza), Italy, for 33 years. He has authored over 60 papers published in Italian and International Magazines and has delivered over 50 presentations at Italian and International Congresses. From 2020–2026, he served as Director of the Cardiac Unit at Villa Berica Hospital, Vicenza. His fields of interest include Heart Failure, Coronary Diseases, Non Invasive Diagnostic Image, Preventive Cardiology, Cardioncology, and Sports Cardiology.