Importance of Endothelial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of COVID-19

While the COVID-19 primarily hits the lungs, it is becoming clear that the cardiovascular system may be as important. The vascular endothelium is both directly affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and indirectly as a result of a systemic inflammatory cytokine storm. The position paper of the ESC Working Group for Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology and the ESC Council of Basic Cardiovascular Science now published in Cardiovascular research highlights the importance of the endothelium in the underlying pathophysiology behind the clinical presentation in COVID-19 and identifies key questions for future research to address.