The coronavirus infection can be more severe on people with cardiovascular co-morbidities, making them prone to getting hospitalised or dying from the virus, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The authors of the study suggested that health officials should differently cater to Covid-19-positive people with cardiovascular problems by understanding the 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 study authors from the Magna Graecia University in Italy.

Data set

The researchers analysed data from 21 published observational studies on a total of 77,317 hospitalised Covid-19 patients in Asia, Europe, and the US.

The researchers noted in their study that 12.89 per cent of the patients had cardiovascular co-morbidities, 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.

According to the researchers, the most common of these complications were arrhythmias or palpitations. A large number of patients also had a myocardial injury.

The research mentioned that both age and pre-existing cardiovascular co-morbidities or risk factors were significant predictors of death. However, in some cases, cardiovascular ailments led to more severity.

“Cardiovascular complications are frequent among Covid-19 patients and might contribute to adverse clinical events and mortality,” the study author concluded.

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