A consensus statement, endorsed by the CSANZ, ANZSCTS, National Heart Foundation (NHF), and the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia (HBPRCA) includes recommendations related to the care of patients with cardiovascular disease and COVID-19 infection (1) [see Link]. They conclude that:
“The presence of underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD) confers the highest mortality with COVID-19 disease, thus patients with CVD must be considered a particularly at-risk population …”
These recommendations are particularly relevant to the perioperative care of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
(1) Zaman, Sarah, Andrew I. MacIsaac, Garry L. R. Jennings, Markus Schlaich, Sally C. Inglis, Ruth Arnold, Derek P. Chew, et al. 2020. “Cardiovascular Disease and COVID-19: Australian/New Zealand Consensus Statement.” The Medical Journal of Australia, April, 1. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/cardiovascular-disease-and-covid-19-australiannew-zealand-consensus-statement.