Internationale Zeitschrift für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung

Cardiovascular Research at COVID-19

Tiago Lima Sampaio and Ramon Róseo Paula Pessoa Bezerra de Menezes

Year 2020 is a historic year for society and challenging for science. With the rise of COVID-19 pandemic, several research groups around the world have studied the structure of the causative virus, potential new drugs, drugs candidates for repurposing, vaccines, and methods of management of the main complications caused by the disease. The new coronavirus can cause several organic complications in respiratory, nervous, urinary, hepatobiliary tissues and bloodstream. Among these complications, it is important to highlight the cardiovascular disorders, since patients with heart disease, systemic arterial hypertension, congestive heart failure, metabolic syndrome and diabetes are some of the main risk groups. In a global alert scenario, the social importance of scientists in cardiovascular research is ratified. Therefore, several research groups have sought strategies aiming the early diagnosis of cardiovascular complications in patients with COVID-19. Additionally, different patient management protocols in intensive care have been designed and constantly revised, which could improve life quality of these patients and minimize mortality rates. Therefore, this editorial for the International Journal of Cardiovascular Research aims to reinforce the importance of research in the area, congratulate the scientists for their efforts in these turbulent times and encourage new studies on this topic, suggesting new experimental and clinical paths.