COVID-19 Virus and Heart Failure: Information and Practical Tips
We strongly encourage all patients with heart failure to get vaccinated.
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What Heart Failure Patients Need to know about COVID–19
COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus. It contains genetic material that can infect human cells which will then multiply, producing more virus. The COVID–19 pandemic is a quickly evolving public health emergency. It started in late December 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and has rapidly spread to countries and territories worldwide.
The spread from human-to-human occurs via coughing and sneezing. Respiratory droplets containing the virus may infect you through contact with the mouth, nose or eyes. The virus can also contaminate surfaces and survive for up to several days or more. At least 80% of infected patients experience mild symptoms and recover without intensive medical intervention.
Signs of COVID-19 include flu-like symptoms such as fever, new and persistent cough, fatigue, headache and sore throat. The virus can lead to pneumonia in some patients, with progressive breathing difficulties and, in more severe cases, can be fatal. However, the overall case fatality rate of COVID-19 based on initial published reports remains low at approximately 2%.
What does COVID–19 mean for patients with heart failure?
Serious complications, with a need for hospitalisation, increase significantly with age. People over 70 years old are at particularly high risk as many also suffer from heart failure and other underlying medical conditions.
Patients with chronic respiratory disease, chronic cardiovascular disease such as heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, autoimmune diseases or those on immunosuppressant medication following transplantation are more vulnerable to the worst outcomes of the virus. Heart failure patients may have at least one or more of these other conditions and are therefore subject to a higher risk of hospitalisation and serious complications.
