Tag Archives: COVID-19

Introduction SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly become a worldwide health emergency. The declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020 of a global pandemic has underscored the widespread morbidity and mortality caused by the virus. Concerted efforts by healthcare and research communities are ongoing to establish the efficacy and potency of various pharmacotherapeutics. It has been shown that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects multiple organs and has heterogeneous effects on the cardiovascular system. This is also accompanied by enhanced morbidity and mortality in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease.1 In urgent e

Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has produced a dramatic shift in how we practise medicine, with a large reduction in specialty workload and redistribution of services to provide care for COVID-19 patients. This has necessitated changes in working patterns, clinical commitments and training for junior grades. Those in cardiology training programmes in the UK have experienced a significant loss in training opportunities, due to the loss of specialist outpatient clinics and reduction in procedural work (table 1). Trainees have traded percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for central lines and mechanical ventilat

Introduction to the steering committee From left to right: Professor Martin Cowie, Dr Matthew Fay, Ms Jo Jerrome,Dr Abhishek Joshi, Dr Jim Moore, Ms Helen Williams Conflicts of interest The steering committe received speaking and consultation fees from Bayer plc. MRC provides consultancy advice to Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Novartis, Roche Diagnostics and Servier. MF has received speaker honoraria, conference sponsorship, unrestricted educational grants, and/or attended meetings sponsored by AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, and S

The new report Heart failure: a call to action warns that COVID-19 could result in a significant increase in the disease. Up to 40% of people diagnosed with heart failure die within one year. Over 900,000 people in the UK are currently affected by heart failure, with around 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year, at a total annual cost of £2 billion to the NHS. The Alliance for Heart Failure https://allianceforheartfailure.org is a coalition of charities, patient groups, professional bodies and healthcare companies working together to raise the profile of heart failure in Government, the NHS and media.

The issue regarding use of RAS blockers in the context of COVID-19 has previously been reviewed.1,2 Most recently, emerging data suggest no harm is associated with use of ACE inhibitors or ARBs in COVID-19.3,4 In this perspective, we discuss a related aspect that was first raised by Acanfora and colleagues,5 namely, the potential benefit of neprilysin inhibitors and their role in modulating levels of RAS components. Similar to the situation for ACE inhibitors and ARBs, it seems there are mixed opinions on the utility of neprilysin inhibitors in COVID-19. In a recent review, it was postulated that increasing neprilysin activity might mitigate

Video of our webinar: Restarting cardiology services in Scotland in the COVID-19 era This webinar took place on Wednesday 16th September 2020. Watch our panel of experts discuss how we can start to optimally deliver key services in Scotland as the pandemic eases, as well as answer questions from the webinar participants. Learning objectives A review of the challenges of restarting cardiology services in the COVID-19 era Dealing with the backlog of coronary artery disease treatment The practicalities in restarting cardiac rhythm management Assessing new models of remote and self care in heart failure Is it for me? This webinar is aimed at a

Professor Nick Curzen Consensus statement In response to the need for guidance and clarity, national consensus statements have been published as a consensus between the British Cardiovascular Society, the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS), NHS England/Public Heath England and the Heart Rhythm Society (in the case of the PPE document). The rationale and considerations behind these statements is discussed more fully elsewhere.2 In brief, the guidance for the three contentious areas listed above is summarised as follows. Firstly, the recommendation was that the default treatment for STEMI in the UK should remain primary PCI, unl

Our latest Bulletin features some review articles, commentaries news and tips from frontline healthcare professionals treating COVID-19 patients daily. COVID-19 and the heart • A review of the current data on the association of COVID-19 and the heart COVID-19 and intervention • Catheter lab activity and COVID-19: damned if you do and… • Impact of COVID-19 on primary percutaneous coronary intervention centres in the UK: a survey COVID-19 and diabetes • Expert group practical recommendations: management of diabetes in COVID-19 patients • New e-learning programmes from the EASD COVID-19 and cardiac rhythm management • BHRS video s

The virology of COVID-19 The COVID-19 virus shares the majority of its genome with a previously identified bat coronavirus species RaTG13.3,4 In a fashion similar to the SARS coronavirus from 2002/2003, COVID-19 enters the cell when its ‘spike protein’ interacts with the ACE2 protein in host cells, and allows passage into the cell (see figure 1). Though COVID-19 is, on the whole, most identifiable with the bat coronavirus RaTG13, the spike protein on its own is more akin to that seen in coronavirus species seen in the Malayan pangolin.4 The spike protein in the COVID-19 virus was found to have similar (albeit less) binding affinity for th

An international faculty of eminent representatives from primary and specialist care have developed a consensus document on the management of diabetes for people at risk of, or with confirmed COVID-19, for use in both primary and secondary care. Published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology,1 the brief practical recommendations are based on queries seen to be important by clinicians, questions that have been raised by colleagues and social media, and recommendations guided by using focused-literature review. Clinical decision making in the management of diabetes is already complex and in normal circumstances clinicians follow standard gu