Early findings from a new World Heart Federation (WHF) COVID-19 study presented during ESC Congress 2021 offer important insights into some of the clinical and social burdens posed by the global pandemic, particularly in hard-hit areas like Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

The study, made up of 4,000 patients (median age of 56 years) from more than 20 low-to-middle-income countries, addresses underlying conditions and leading causes of mortality in COVID-19 patients with the goal of identifying risk factors associated with poor in-hospital prognosis and helping to strengthen clinical practice and decision-making.

Initial results show COVID-19 patients exhibiting a range of underlying conditions including hypertension (46.1%), diabetes (33.8%), coronary artery disease (11.4%), heart failure (4.1%), stroke (3.5%), valvular disease (2.1%), atrial fibrillation (2.5%) and more, that were associated with increased risk of mortality. In-hospital mortality rates were close to 14%, with another 4% of patients succumbing to illness within one-month post-hospital discharge. The leading causes of death were pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute renal injury and complications of heart failure including sudden cardiac death.

"We applied a wider lens to areas of the world that are often not reflected in much of the emanating research. We believe our findings will offer insights and also highlight the needs of communities in ways that are critical to holistic future preparedness and healthcare planning," said Karen Sliwa, MD, PhD, FACC, one of the study's principal investigators and past WHF president.

Sliwa and colleagues note that another "inadvertent yet invaluable" outcome of the study is the formation of an interconnected group of experts from often underserved parts of the world that is able to share best practices and strengthen and build collective knowledge on how to treat and manage COVID-19 patients. Final results from the study are slated for release later this year.

"In demanding circumstances facing a pandemic we can easily become silos, but this study has spawned a learning platform that can ultimately benefit communities, patients and practitioners who might otherwise be excluded from global research and data," said Prabhakaran Dorairaj, MD, FACC, of the Public Health Foundation of India, one of the coordinating groups of the study, along with the Centre for Chronic Disease Control.

Clinical Topics: COVID-19 Hub, Invasive Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention, Interventions and Imaging, Angiography, Nuclear Imaging

Keywords: ESC Congress, ESC21, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Angiography, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Pandemics, ACC International

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