TY - JOUR T1 - Heartbeat: Heart disease and COVID-19 JF - Heart JO - Heart SP - 1115 LP - 1116 DO - 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317674 VL - 106 IS - 15 AU - Catherine M Otto Y1 - 2020/08/01 UR - http://heart.bmj.com/content/106/15/1115.abstract N2 - During the COVID-19 pandemic it has become evident that the interaction between COVID-19 infection and cardiovascular disease goes both ways: patients with underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at higher risk of adverse outcomes if infected; conversely, regardless of the presence of absence of underlying cardiovascular disease, acute myocardial injury is common in patients with COVID-19 infection. In this issue of Heart Wei and colleagues1 report that in a prospective study of 101 cases of COVID-19 in Sichuan, China, acute myocardial injury was present in 15.8% of patients, with an elevation in high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) more than five times normal in many patients. Clinical factors associated with an elevated hs-TnT were older age and pre-existing CVD. An elevated hs-TnT level was associated with a higher likelihood of mortality, admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, and treatment with vasoactive agents. (table 1)View this table:In this windowIn a new windowTable 1 In-hospital clinical outcomes in 101 cases of COVID-19 in Sichuan, ChinaIn the accompanying editorial, Cheng and Leedy2 discuss the likely pathophysiology of myocardial injury in patient with COVID-19 infection including unmasking of underlying cardiovascular disease, coronary plaque rupture and cytokine release syndrome. They also emphasise the importance of identifying the underlying … ER -