Acute myocardial infarction in COVID-19 patients. A review of cases in the literature

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 is an ongoing pandemic that has lasted more than a year. Patients with multiple comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and smoking have been shown to be at increased risk of a more severe course and lethal outcome. Since the disease can also lead to a hypercoagulable state, several cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have also been recorded. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We searched PubMed/Medline for case reports of AMI occurring in COVID-19 positive patients using “acute myocardial infarction”, “COVID-19”, and “SARS-CoV-2” as keywords. RESULTS: Thirty-three articles covering 37 patients were identified, among which 30 (81.1%) were male, and 7 (18.9%) were females. The mean age of these 37 patients was 52.8 ±15.6 years. Most cases were from the United States (17 cases, 45.9%). Several comorbidities such as hypertension (16 cases, 43.2%), diabetes (14 cases, 37.8%), smoking (8 cases, 21.6%), obesity (3 cases, 8.1%), morbid obesity (1 case, 2.7%), and elevated lipid levels (4 cases, 10.8%) were also identified. The most common symptom of AMI was chest tightness (22 cases, 59.5%), while the most common symptoms for COVID-19 were dyspnoea (25 cases, 67.6%) and fever (22 cases, 59.5%). The mortality rate was 35.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high mortality rate, physicians are encouraged to properly check for signs of cardiac dysfunction and possible AMI while treating COVID-19 positive patients with several comorbidities or previous history of AMI.