Cardiovascular Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome: Definition, Clinical Scenarios, Diagnosis, and Management

Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) describes the clinical condition of some SARS-CoV-2-infected patients in which a wide range of signs and symptoms that persist for several months after the acute phase of the disease. Cardiovascular symptoms including chest pain, dyspnea, elevated blood pressure, palpitations, inappropriate tachycardia, fatigue, and exercise intolerance are common in this condition. Some infected patients develop cardiovascular diseases such as myocarditis, pericarditis, new or worsening myocardial ischemia due to obstructive coronary artery disease, microvascular dysfunction, stress cardiomyopathy, thromboembolism, cardiovascular sequelae of pulmonary disease, arrhythmias, while others have cardiovascular symptoms without objective evidence of cardiovascular abnormalities. In the present chapter, definition, spectrum of manifestations, clinical scenarios, diagnosis, management, and therapy of cardiovascular PACS will be discussed.