Malaria and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review

Abstract Background Myocardial tissue appears to be a favored site for the malaria parasite, and several studies have suggested that malaria may lead to myocardial dysfunction. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of clinical studies reporting on malaria and cardiac disease. Methods We searched PubMed and Embase through January 2020. We applied strict inclusion criteria (Figure 1A) and assessed studies reporting on verified cardiac disease by paraclinical tests, ECG, cardiac biomarkers and echocardiographic findings. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted data and assessed the PRISMA guidelines. Results Twenty-eight articles were identified (published 1954–2020; n=19 case-reports, n=5 cohort studies, n=4 cross-sectional studies; Figure 1B), of which most were conducted in India (n=11) and Germany (n=4). The studies included a total of 2,221 malaria cases (mean age 42 years; 67% men; 41% complicated infection) and the distribution of species were: Plasmodium falciparum (n=15), vivax (n=12) and knowlesi (n=1). The most commonly reported cardiac diagnoses in case-reports were myocarditis (n=9), pericarditis (n=3) and acute myocardial infarction (n=4). Although the cohort and cross-sectional studies reported on different cardiac parameters (Figure 1C), a majority showed that malaria cases more often had elevated levels of cardiac biomarkers, ECG alterations and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction when compared to controls (P<0.05 for all). Conclusion Studies reporting on malaria and cardiovascular disease display considerable heterogeneity in terms of study design, severity and outcome measurements. Despite this, the included studies demonstrate a potential link between malaria and cardiac disease. This should be explored in future and larger hypothesis generating clinical studies. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None