Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiovascular Risk Assessment among COVID-19 Patients Using Different Scores

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmic complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Cardiovascular complications of this viral infection need to be identified with different means to detect adverse events early. This is particularly true for hospitalized COVID-19 patients who have severe illness. This review provides a comprehensive overview about the different scores used to predict atrial fibrillation as well as cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among COVID-19 patients.

Abstract

Since the advent of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 in December 2019, millions of people have been infected and succumbed to death because of this deadly virus. Cardiovascular complications such as thromboembolism and arrhythmia are predominant causes of morbidity and mortality. Different scores previously used for atrial fibrillation (AF) identification or prediction of its complications were investigated by physicians to understand whether those scores can predict in-hospital mortality or AF among patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndromecoronavirus-2 virus. Using such scores gives hope for early prediction of atrial arrhythmia and in-hospital mortality among coronavirus disease 2019–infected patients. We have discussed the mechanisms of AF and cardiovascular damage in coronavirus disease 2019 patients, different methods of AF prediction, and compared different scores for prediction of in-hospital mortality after this viral infection.