Critically ill COVID-19 patients were 10 times more likely than hospitalized patients with less severe coronavirus infections to have cardiac arrest or heart rhythm disorders and die, but these conditions are likely not due to infection with the novel coronavirus, according to a study published yesterday in Heart Rhythm.
Using clinical records, researchers reviewed the characteristics of all 700 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from Mar 6 to May 19.Mean patient age was 50 years, 45% were men, 71% were black, and 11% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Among them, there were 9 cardiac arrests, 25 atrial fibrillation (irregular or rapid heartbeat) incidents, 9 clinically significant