ACC/AHA guidelines to understand how COVID-19 impacts cardiovascular health

 Individuals with cardiovascular risk factors or a preexisting cardiovascular condition are at greater risk for severe infection from COVID-19,  and there is an increased importance of understanding the acute and longitudinal impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health.  Unfortunately, there has not been clarity or consensus on definitions of cardiovascular conditions related to COVID-19.

Broad agreement on common vocabulary and definitions is needed to pool or compare data from

1.electronic health records (EHRs),   

2.clinical registries,

3.administrative datasets and

4.other databases, and to assess whether these data are applicable to clinical practice and research endeavors.

 This document is intended for use by researchers, registry developers and clinicians, and is proposed as a framework for ICD-10 code development of COVID–19–related cardiovascular conditions.  The standards are also of great importance to patients, clinicians, investigators, scientists, administrators, public health officials, policymakers and payers.

The new data standard provides health care professionals a framework with which to lead conversations with their patients by standardizing terminology and attributes for the diagnosis of COVID-19;  cardiovascular and noncardiovascular complications;  symptoms and signs; diagnostic procedures; pharmacological therapy; preventive, therapeutic and supportive procedures; and end-of-life care management.

The 2022 AHA/ACC Key Data Elements and Definitions for Cardiovascular and Noncardiovascular Complications of COVID-19 is published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes on Thursday, June 23, 2022.  It was endorsed by the Heart Failure Society of America  and the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.

Reference: Bozkurt B, Das S, et al. 2022 AHA/ACC Key Data Elements and Definitions for Cardiovascular and Noncardiovascular Complications of COVID-19. J Am Coll Cardiol. null2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.03.355