Latin-American Registry of Cardiovascular Disease and COVID-19: Final Results.

Background: Socioeconomic factors contribute to a more severe impact of COVID-19 in Latin American and Caribbean (LA&C) countries than in developed countries. Patients with a severe or critical illness can develop respiratory and cardiovascular complications. Objective: To describe a LA&C population with COVID-19 to provide information related to this disease, in-hospital cardiovascular complications, and in-hospital mortality. Methods: The CARDIO COVID-19-20 Registry is an observational, multicenter, prospective, and hospital-based registry of patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection that required in-hospital treatment in LA&C. Enrollment of patients started on May 01, 2020, and ended on June 30, 2021. Results: The CARDIO COVID-19-20 Registry included 3260 patients from 44 institutions of 14 LA&C countries. 63.2% patients were male and median age was 61.0 years old. Most common comorbidities were overweight/obesity (49.7%), hypertension (49.0%), and diabetes mellitus (26.7%). Most frequent cardiovascular complications during hospitalization or reported at discharge were cardiac arrhythmia (9.1%), decompensated heart failure (8.5%), and pulmonary embolism (3.9%). The number of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was 1745 (53.5%), and median length of their stay at the ICU was 10.0 days. Support required in ICU included invasive mechanical ventilation (34.2%), vasopressors (27.6%), inotropics (10.3%), and vasodilators (3.7%). Rehospitalization after 30-day post discharge was 7.3%. In-hospital mortality and 30-day post discharge were 25.5% and 2.6%, respectively. Conclusions: According to our findings, more than half of the LA&C population with COVID-19 assessed required management in ICU, with higher requirement of invasive mechanical ventilation and vasoactive support, resulting in a high in-hospital mortality and a considerable high 30-day post discharge rehospitalization and mortality.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in a Latin American Center: A Single Center Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a complex disorder that includes various phenotypes, leading to different manifestations. It also shares different disadvantages typical of rare diseases, including limited recognition, lack of prospective studies assessing treatment, and little or delayed access to advanced treatment options. Reliable data about the prevalence and natural history of cardiomyopathies in South America are lacking. This study summarizes the features and management of patients with HCM in a university hospital in Colombia. METHODS: This was an observational retrospective cohort study of patients with HCM between January 2010 and December 2021. Patient data were analyzed from an institutional cardiomyopathy registry. Demographic, paraclinical, and outcome data were collected. RESULTS: A total of 82 patients during the study period were enrolled. Of these, 67.1% were male, and the mean age at diagnosis was 49 years. Approximately 83% were in NYHA functional class I and II, and the most reported symptoms were dyspnea (38%), angina (20%), syncope (15%), and palpitations (11%). In addition, 89% had preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with an asymmetric septal pattern in 65%. Five patients (6%) had alcohol septal ablation and four (5%) had septal myectomy. One patient required heart transplantation during follow-up. Sudden cardiovascular death was observed in 2.6%. The overall mortality during follow-up was 7.3%. CONCLUSIONS: HCM is a complex and heterogeneous disorder that presents with significant morbidity and mortality. Our registry provides comprehensive data on disease courses and management in a developing country.