Introduction:
After its emergence in Wuhan, Hubei province of China in December 2019
novel Corona virus disease (COVID-19) infection has grown into one of
the largest healthcare crises of the last century. Early reports from
China and later Europe indicated that the angiotensin converting enzyme
2 (ACE 2) surface protein acts as a receptor for this virus and is the
port of entry for the virus into the cell. These receptors are also
expressed in myocardium, reflecting the link between heart and the
virus. Emerging data has shown that this novel virus affects the
cardiovascular system in several ways leading to increased morbidity and
mortality. Several case reports and recently published epidemiological
data have shown that patients with myocardial involvement and COVID -19
infection have poor outcomes [1]. The other described effects of
this viral infection on the cardiovascular system include myocardial
infarction, acute exacerbation of heart failure, arrhythmias and
procoagulant effects. The cardiovascular complications related to
COVID-19 have led to the need of echocardiographic services for these
patients to help with the management and identification of
complications. The aim of this study was to identify echocardiographic
findings in COVID-19 infection and its utility in management .