THE Medical Journal of Australia has today published an Australian and New Zealand consensus statement on the treatment and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and COVID-19.
Written by experts from the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Board and Council members, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS), key cardiology, surgical and public health opinion leaders, the consensus statement recommends the following:
- Patients with CVD are at heightened risk of COVID-19 and health services and patients should take additional precautions;
- Given the well-established beneficial effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors (ACE-I) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) in patients with hypertension, heart failure and CVD, it is the strong recommendation of the authors and numerous national and international societies that these medications should be continued as indicated;
- To avoid unnecessary coronary angiography during the acute illness, haemodynamically stable patients with COVID-19 and possible myocardial infarction may be best managed conservatively, with invasive procedures deferred until after COVID-19 recovery;
- Off-label prescribing of hydroxychloroquine has been reported (30) and health professionals should be alert to cardiac toxicity in the community.
The article is available now and is open access to all readers. It can be found at:
- Cate Swannell
- Medical Journal of Australia
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