Dear Colleagues,

Since late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a worldwide health crisi,s with millions of reported COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations leading to healthcare system overburden. While the unprecedented response from the global medical community led to rapid development of multiple vaccines and therapies, the acute and long-term health effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are still not entirely understood. COVID-19 was primarily assumed to be a respiratory disease; however, the virus affects multiple organs, including the cardiovascular system. Numerous cardiovascular complications during acute infection and in the post COVID-19 period have been reported. Multiple questions still remain concerning SARS-CoV-2-associated cardiovascular pathophysiology, as well as the viability of novel therapies. Consequently, further research is necessary to combat the residual effects of the disease and mitigate the health burden of long-term complications.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute a research article for this Special Issue, which aims to  uncover the mechanisms of how COVID-19 disease affects the cardiovascular system across the spectrum of cardiovascular pathologies and diverse patient populations. Among others, this includes the study of molecular cardiovascular pathophysiology, cardiovascular impacts of acute but also long COVID-19 disease, as well as the investigation of novel therapeutic options. This issue further focuses on cardiovascular relevant health science questions, including gender-related cardiovascular COVID-19 aspects. 

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Cardiovascular disease in acute COVID-19 and long sequelae of COVID-19 disease;
2. Novel therapy options for COVID-19 disease and their impact on the cardiovascular system;
3. Gender-related aspects of cardiovascular disease in COVID-19;
4. Pathophysiological aspects of cardiovascular COVID-19 disease;
5. Impact of COVID-19-associated inflammation on the cardiovascular system;
6. Novel cardiovascular risk assessment strategies in COVID-19 patients;
7. Cardiac arrhythmias in acute COVID-19 disease and long sequelae of COVID-19;
8. The impact of SARS-CoV2 immunization on cardiovascular patients.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Lukas J. Motloch
Dr. Anna-Maria Dieplinger
Dr. Rudin Pistulli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Hearts is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• COVID-19
• long-term cardiovascular sequelae
• cardiovascular system
• SARS-CoV-2
• gender and COVID-19
• inflammation
• COVID-19 vaccination
• COVID-19 therapy
• pathophysiology of COVID-19
• cardiac arrhythmia and COVID-19