Prevalence, Management, and Outcome of Atrial Fibrillation and Other Supraventricular Arrhythmias in COVID-19 Patients

Michele Magnocavallo; Giampaolo Vetta; Domenico G Della Rocca; Carola Gianni; Sanghamitra Mohanty; Mohamed Bassiouny; Luca Di Lullo; Armando Del Prete; Donatello Cirone; Carlo Lavalle; Cristina Chimenti; Amin Al-Ahmad; J David Burkhardt; G Joseph Gallinghouse; Javier E Sanchez; Rodney P Horton; Luigi Di Biase; Andrea Natale

doi:10.1016/j.ccep.2021.10.001

Prevalence, Management, and Outcome of Atrial Fibrillation and Other Supraventricular Arrhythmias in COVID-19 Patients

Card Electrophysiol Clin. 2022 Mar;14(1):1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ccep.2021.10.001. Epub 2022 Jan 22.

Authors

Michele Magnocavallo¹, Giampaolo Vetta², Domenico G Della Rocca³, Carola Gianni⁴, Sanghamitra Mohanty⁴, Mohamed Bassiouny⁴, Luca Di Lullo⁵, Armando Del Prete⁶, Donatello Cirone⁷, Carlo Lavalle², Cristina Chimenti², Amin Al-Ahmad⁴, J David Burkhardt⁴, G Joseph Gallinghouse⁴, Javier E Sanchez⁴, Rodney P Horton⁴, Luigi Di Biase⁸, Andrea Natale⁹

Affiliations

¹ Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, 3000 N. IH-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX 78705, USA; Department of Cardiovascular/Respiratory Diseases, Nephrology, Anesthesiology, and Geriatric Sciences, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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 N. IH-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX 78705, USA. Electronic address: domenicodellarocca@hotmail.it.
⁴ Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, 3000 N. IH-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX 78705, USA.
⁵ Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, L. Parodi - Delfino Hospital, Colleferro, Roma, Italy.
⁶ Division of Cardiology, Santa Maria Goretti Hospital, Latina, Italy.
⁷ Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy.
⁸ Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, 3000 N. IH-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX 78705, USA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Hospital, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, 3000 N. IH-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX 78705, USA; Interventional Electrophysiology, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Cardiology, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Abstract

COVID-19 mainly affects the respiratory system but has been correlated with cardiovascular manifestations such as myocarditis, heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, and arrhythmias. Cardiac arrhythmias are the second most frequent complication affecting about 30% of patients. Several mechanisms may lead to an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias during COVID-19 infection, ranging from direct myocardial damage to extracardiac involvement. The aim of this review is to describe the role of COVID-19 in the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias and provide a comprehensive guidance for their monitoring and management.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Atrial flutter; COVID-19; Catheter ablation; Rhythm control; Supraventricular arrhythmias.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Atrial Fibrillation* / surgery
Atrial Flutter*
COVID-19* / complications
Catheter Ablation* / adverse effects
Humans
Prevalence
SARS-CoV-2
Tachycardia, Supraventricular*