Transient Complete Heart Block in a Patient With COVID-19

Cureus. 2021 Jun 21;13(6):e15796. doi: 10.7759/cureus.15796. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, was first identified in Wuhan, China. Symptoms of COVID-19 are fevers, dry cough and less commonly gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as diarrhea that occur in 2 to 14 days of exposure. Infection with COVID-19 leads to hospitalizations due to respiratory compromise. Secondary manifestations of this virus should warrant further investigation since little is known about COVID-19 and its role in the cardiac circuit. We present a patient with COVID-19 who developed transient third-degree AV block initially hospitalized for septic shock. The patient presented with mild symptoms and the transient nature of the complete heart block could be a matter of low viral load in his circulation. He recovered from COVID-19 with no long-term cardiac sequelae. The long-term effects of COVID-19 are still unknown; this case presents the cardiac manifestations of the virus.

Keywords: av nodal disturbances; cardiac manifestations of covid-19; covid-19; myocardium; transient arrhythmias; transient third-degree av block; viral load.

Publication types

  • Case Reports