ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CARDIOVASCULAR COMORBIDITIES AND MORTALITY AMONGST SARS-COV-2 PATIENTS

Background The presence of cardiovascular comorbidities is known to cause increased mortality. However, it is unclear how different cardiovascular comorbidities affect the mortality among patients with SARS-CoV-2. Methods This was a retrospective study of patients 18 years and older with a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed with polymerase chain reaction test at a public hospital in New York City between March 2020 and April 2021. Different cardiovascular comorbidities, including hypertension, heart failure, and coronary artery disease (CAD), and their effects on the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for demographics and comorbidities. Results We identified 23,076 patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test;The rate of death was 3.0% (703 patients). Of those patients, 631 (89.8%) had hypertension, 266 (37.8%) had CAD, 104 (14.8%) had end-stage renal disease, 74 (10.5%) experienced a myocardial infarction (MI), 442 (62.9%) had diabetes, and 212 (30.2%) had heart failure. The adjusted odds of death was 2.34 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.59-3.44;p<0.001) for patients with hypertension, 1.43 (95% CI: 1.08-1.88;p<0.013) for patients with heart failure, 0.97 (95% CI: 0.73-1.29;p<0.843) for patients with CAD, 0.227 (95% CI: 0.146-0.351;p<0.001) for patients taking ACE inhibitors, 0.921 (CI: 0.702-1.208;p<0.550) for patients with diabetes, 1.207 (95% CI: 0.724-2.010;p<0.470) for patients with end stage renal disease, and 0.740 (95% CI: 0.431-1.270;<0.274) for patients who experience a MI. Conclusion This retrospective study suggests that cardiovascular comorbidities, specifically hypertension and heart failure, were associated with the increased risk of mortality in patients with SARS-CoV-2, while CAD and MI were not. As with most observational studies, potential residual confounding may not confirm casualty.