Viral Hypothesis in Cardiac Arrhythmias

Infectious diseases are known to target, indeed not so occasionally, heart structures such as pericardium, myocardium, endocardium, valves, peripheral nerves and heart vessels. Among them, cardiotropic viruses are the most common cause of myocarditis; at this regard the spread diffusion of viruses such as SARS-CoV2 and the COVID-19 pandemic represent an extraordinary opportunity to collect information on a possible link between viral infection, antiviral vaccination/treatments and cardiovascular side-effects including cardiac arrhythmias.

At the theoretical level, is not known if viruses, due to their tropism and mechanisms of action, might be direct or indirect causes of cardiac arrhythmias. Indeed the often random onset of arrhythmias has no unique explanation. Therefore, the goal of this topic is to explore any possible link between viral infection, antiviral vaccination/treatments and cardiac arrhythmias.

Keywords: Arrhythmias, viral infections, viruses, SARS-CoV-2, Cardiac

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