In December 2019, the world witnessed the occurrence of a new coronavirus to humanity. The disease spread quickly and became known as a pandemic globally, affecting both society and the health care system, both the elderly and young groups of people, and both the men’s and women’s groups. It was a universal challenge that immediately caused a surge in scientific research. Be a part of a world rising in fighting against the pandemic, the Coronavirus Disease - COVID-19 was depicted in the early days of the pandemic, but updated by more than 200 scientists and clinicians to include many facets of this new infectious pandemic, including i, characteristics, ecology, and evolution of coronaviruses; ii, epidemiology, genetics, and pathogenesis (immune responses and oxidative stress) of the disease; iii, diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical manifestations of the disease in pediatrics, geriatrics, pregnant women, and neonates; iv, challenges of co-occurring the disease with tropical infections, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and cancer and to the settings of dentistry, hematology, ophthalmology, and pharmacy; v, transmission, prevention, and potential treatments, ranging from supportive ventilator support and nutrition therapy to potential virus- and host-based therapies, immune-based therapies, photobiomodulation, antiviral photodynamic therapy, and vaccines; vi, the resulting consequences on social lives, mental health, education, tourism industry and economy; and vii, multimodal approaches to solve the problem by bioinformatic methods, innovation and ingenuity, globalization, social and scientific networking, interdisciplinary approaches, and art integration. We are approaching December 2020 and the still presence of COVID-19, asking us to call it COVID (without 19).

The story of COVID-19 now seems so familiar: from the first reported case of a new respiratory infection in China in December 2019, to a pandemic that rapidly changed the world. Respiratory clinicians and scientists were at the forefront of delivering healthcare for people with COVID-19, leading efforts to understand this novel virus and disease, and developing and testing strategies to better prevent and treat it. These endeavours extended not only to the acute illness, but also to understanding the longer-term consequences. The pace of knowledge acquisition was rapid but is now maturing. This Monograph therefore provides a timely and valuable state-of-the-art summary for clinicians and scientists on our understanding of this virus and its consequences to date. It is essential reading for all those involved in the care of people who are or who have been affected by COVID-19.

In May 2023, WHO declared that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. In 2024, COVID-19 certainly has not gone away, but we can now take a more reflective look at the pandemic. This issue of the ERS Monograph does just that, bringing together a truly international group of experts, as befits a global illness, to consider areas such as: long-term sequelae in airway disease, interstitial lung disease, and in the immunocompromised; therapeutics in the community, in hospital and in the intensive care unit; and the pathophysiology and management of long COVID. The Guest Editors also consider the impact of COVID-19 on clinical research and scientific publishing, as well as looking to the future, considering what can be learnt from the pandemic.

COVID-19 Consequences on Cardiovascular System: Immediate, Intermediate, and Long-Term Complications covers all the aspects related with the interplay between SARS-COV-2 infection and the cardiovascular system, from bench to bedside and from acute infection to long-term complications. Written by a team of experts, this book is a one-stop-shop reference for both healthcare professionals and researchers who require a comprehensive view into the deleterious effects of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system, the relationship of cardiovascular risk factors with COVID-19 prognosis, and further insights on the biomarkers that currently make it possible to predict and monitor the evolution of the disease at the cardiovascular level. Scientific evidence demonstrates that while COVID-19 primarily affects the lungs, it also affects multiple organs, particularly the cardiovascular system, with its most common complications being arrhythmia, cardiac injury, fulminant myocarditis, heart failure and pulmonary embolism. - Covers all the current scientific pieces of evidence about the effects of COVID-19 on the heart and cardiovascular system from both a basic and a clinical point of view. - Discusses immediate, intermediate, and long-term complications of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system. - Includes studies conducted worldwide by well-known experts in related fields.

In this issue of Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, guest editors Drs. Domenico G. Della Rocca, Giovanni B. Forleo, and Andrea Natale bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Arrhythmic and Vascular Complications of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Top experts in the field cover key topics such as prevalence and clinical implications of COVID-19 myocarditis; electrocardiographic and echocardiographic features of COVID-19 patients; imaging findings of COVID-19-related cardiovascular complications; the role of digital health during COVID-19 pandemic; and more. - Contains 14 relevant, practice-oriented topics including prevalence, management, and outcomes of supraventricular arrhythmias in COVID-19 patients; prevalence, management, and outcomes of ventricular arrhythmias in COVID-19 patients; COVID-19 associated endothelial dysfunction and microvascular injury; COVID-19, acute myocardial injury, and infarction; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on arrhythmic and vascular complications of COVID-19, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.