AbstractBackground: Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In 2019, a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of a disease outbreak that originated in China. The virus is now known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease it causes is called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.1
Rationale: With the current changes in the lifestyle it has been observed that the Non communicable diseases have increased in the past decade. India has an estimated 77 million people with diabetes, which makes it the second most affected in the world and the numbers are expected to increase according to International Diabetic Federation.
National Family Health Survey says that approximately 207 million people (men 112 million, women 95 million) are suffering from hypertension in our country and the numbers are projected to grow. According to a study conducted by Lancet in 2016 around 23.8 million prevalent cases of ischemic heart disease and 6.5 million cases of
stroke were estimated in India. It has been observed lately that patients with Covid-19 along with an underlying disease (Hypertension, CVDs, diabetes) might have an increased risk of death. A sizeable majority of the Indian population is afflicted with the diseases, therefore it is crucial to understand the proposed etiopathogenesis of these comorbidities Understanding the damage caused by SARS-CoV-2 and their underlying mechanisms is of the great importance, so that treatment of these patients can be done effectively and the mortality can be reduced. In
this article we will be discussing how Covid-19 infection affects patients with pre-existing hypertension, cardiac conditions, and diabetes.
Method: Thorough review of articles from Google Scholar and PubMed till July 15, 2020 was done with keywords “SARS-CoV-2”, “COVID-19”, “nCoV 2”, “pathophysiology”,“cardiovascular disease”, “hypertension”
“myocardium”, “symptoms”, “diagnosis”, “prognosis”, “management”.
Conclusions: Suggestions are made on the possible pathophysiological mechanisms of CVD in patients suffering from COVID-19, and its management. No firm conclusions can be drawn based on limited evidence that we possess.Though further research between the possible relationship of COVID-19 and cardiovascular damage is warranted.