Elsevier

American Heart Journal

Volume 227, September 2020, Pages 74-81
American Heart Journal

Curriculum in Cardiology
The cardiac intensive care unit and the cardiac intensivist during the COVID-19 surge in New York City

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2020.06.018Get rights and content

Critical care cardiology has been impacted by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 causes severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute kidney injury, as well as several cardiovascular complications including myocarditis, venous thromboembolic disease, cardiogenic shock, and cardiac arrest. The cardiac intensive care unit is rapidly evolving as the need for critical care beds increases. Herein, we describe the changes to the cardiac intensive care unit and the evolving role of critical care cardiologists and other clinicians in the care of these complex patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include practical recommendations regarding structural and organizational changes to facilitate care of patients with COVID-19; staffing and personnel changes; and health and safety of personnel. We draw upon our own experiences at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center to offer insights into the unique challenges facing critical care clinicians and provide recommendations of how to address these challenges during this unprecedented time.

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Sources of Funding: KC receives support through NIH Grant K23 HL148528. MA receives support through 18AMFDP34380732 from the American Heart Association and from the NIH/NHLBI (K23 HL141682-01A1 and R01HL146636-01A1).

No extramural funding was used to support this work.

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