Cardiovascular imaging in the acute phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the most critical healthcare issue worldwide since the pandemic was announced in March 2020. Although respiratory symptoms remain the critical characteristic feature of COVID-19 (with acute respiratory syndrome as the leading cause of mortality), the disease also affects other organs. In fact, the involvement of the cardiovascular system during COVID-19 may include acute coronary symptoms, acute heart failure and myocarditis, arrhythmias, cardiac tamponade, pulmonary embolism, and right ventricular failure due to a high-pressure mechanical ventilation. It is vital to note that all of the abovementioned disorders require specific, pandemic-adapted imaging algorithms. This brief review aims to discuss different cardiac imaging modalities to demonstrate their effectiveness in managing patients in the acute phase of COVID-19.

Keywords

• SARS COV-2
• echocardiography
• cardiac magnetic resonance
• computed tomography
• multimodality imaging
• COVID-19