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Current Cardiology Reviews

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ISSN (Print): 1573-403X
ISSN (Online): 1875-6557

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The Deadly Quartet (Covid-19, Old Age, Lung Disease, and Heart Failure) Explains Why Coronavirus-Related Mortality in Northern Italy Was So High

Author(s): Giuseppe Calcaterra, Pier P. Bassareo*, Francesco Barillà, Domenico Sergi, Marcello Chiocchi, Francesco Romeo and Jawahar L. Mehta

Volume 17, Issue 1, 2021

Published on: 31 July, 2020

Page: [74 - 77] Pages: 4

DOI: 10.2174/1573403X16666200731162614

Price: $65

Abstract

Since its outbreak in China at the end of 2019, the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was characterized by both easy spreading and high mortality. The latter proved to be way more elevated in the North of Italy -with a peak of 18.4% in region Lombardia and even 31% in the city of Bergamo and surrounding county- than in the rest of the world. In an attempt to conceptualize the reasons for such a dramatic situation, four key elements have been identified: COVID-19 itself, old age, lung disease, and heart failure. Their harmful combination has been named “The deadly quartet”. The underlying risk factors, among which a lot of them are distinctive features of the population in northern Italy, have been summarized as “unmodifiable”, “partially modifiable”, and “modifiable”, for the sake of clarity. Up-to-date scientific evidence in this field has been described in the form of a narrative and easy-to-read review.

Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus, Italy, mortality, lung, heart.

Graphical Abstract

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