Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2020;75:e1979.

COVID-19, Vascular Diseases, and Vascular Services

Pedro Puech-Leão , Luiz Antonio Machado César, Nelson De Luccia

DOI: 10.6061/clinics/2020/e1979

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that causes severe pneumonia and sepsis. It affects mainly the lungs, but its effects on other organs can reflect the severity of sepsis in a patient. Arterial and venous thrombosis have been noted in necropsy studies, suggesting a direct and/or indirect action of the virus on the endothelium and the coagulation cascade.

Endothelial involvement in bacterial and viral infections is not a new finding. It is known to be mediated by cytokines and has been shown to occur in pneumonia caused by influenza (,). In the case of influenza infection, the prevalence of myocardial infarction and associated mortality rates is higher among patients ≥65 years of age. The impact on mortality is alleviated by vaccine immunization. Influenza also affects the incidence of stroke in hypertensive patients. Myocarditis, mediated by cytokines caused by a direct effect of the virus on myocytes, has also been described.

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