Cardiovascular diseases as risk factors of post-COVID syndrome: a systematic review

Sha'ari NI 1 , Ismail A 2 , Abdul Aziz AF 3 , Suddin LS 4 , Azzeri A 5 , Sk Abd Razak R 1 Show all authors , Mad Tahir NS 6

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras Campus, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras Campus, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia. [email protected]
  • 3 Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras Campus, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Sungai Buloh, 47000, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 Department of Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Persiaran Ilmu, Putra Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Nilai, 71800, Malaysia
  • 6 Federal Government Administrative Centre, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya, Putrajaya, 62000, Malaysia
BMC Public Health, 2024 Jul 10;24(1):1846.
PMID: 38987743 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19300-4

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A growing proportion of people experience incomplete recovery months after contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These COVID-19 survivors develop a condition known as post-COVID syndrome (PCS), where COVID-19 symptoms persist for > 12 weeks after acute infection. Limited studies have investigated PCS risk factors that notably include pre-existing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which should be examined considering the most recent PCS data. This review aims to identify CVD as a risk factor for PCS development in COVID-19 survivors.

METHODS: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist, systematic literature searches were performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from the earliest date available to June 2023. Data from observational studies in English that described the association between CVD and PCS in adults (≥ 18 years old) were included. A minimum of two authors independently performed the screening, study selection, data extraction, data synthesis, and quality assessment (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale). The protocol of this review was registered under PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023440834).

RESULTS: In total, 594 studies were screened after duplicates and non-original articles had been removed. Of the 11 included studies, CVD including hypertension (six studies), heart failure (three studies), and others (two studies) were significantly associated with PCS development with different factors considered. The included studies were of moderate to high methodological quality.

CONCLUSION: Our review highlighted that COVID-19 survivors with pre-existing CVD have a significantly greater risk of developing PCS symptomology than survivors without pre-existing CVD. As heart failure, hypertension and other CVD are associated with a higher risk of developing PCS, comprehensive screening and thorough examinations are essential to minimise the impact of PCS and improve patients' disease progression.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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