Heart patients with COVID-19 need care from a multidisciplinary team

• Success in managing heart patients with COVID-19 lies in teamwork.

 

Santo Domingo.- The World Health Organization (WHO) states that cardiovascular diseases are the deadliest in the world, claiming 17.3 million lives each year.

 

COVID-19 poses a greater risk to people with underlying conditions such as coronary heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, and in the Dominican Republic the main comorbidities among those who have died of COVID-19 have been high blood pressure and diabetes, according to bulletins from the Ministry of Public Health and its General Directorate of Epidemiology.

 

As Dr. Viviana Navas, an interventional cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic Florida, explains, when a heart patient with COVID-19 develops complications, a joint effort is required. “One thing we do is manage these patients in a multidisciplinary way, with a team made up of intensivists, cardiologists, and specialists in respiratory conditions and infectious diseases.”

 

She also highlighted that when each specialist takes ownership of a specific part, this ends up benefiting the patient and usually improves the prognosis.

 

A cardiologist is an important part of that team, especially when the disease is severe, because they help with decision-making, said the doctor.

 

Recommendations for heart patients

Dr. Navas recommends that patients with heart disease stay at home and keep taking their medication. If they develop any symptoms, they should contact their doctors.

 

She also suggested that while at home during this period of social isolation they eat healthily, try not to gain weight by exercising, strictly follow preventive measures and keep managing their underlying condition.

 

Cleveland Clinic has been ranked the number 1 hospital in the United States for cardiology and heart surgery for 25 consecutive years by US News & World Report.