Proposed Mechanisms and Associations of COVID-19 with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

Authors

• Koushik R. Reddy, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, James A. Haley VA Medical Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA (KRR).
• Kamil F. Faridi, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA (KFF).
• Monica Aggarwal, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA (MA).
• Adithi A. Tirumalai, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA (AAT).
• Tamanna Singh, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA (TS).
• Kristen S. Tejtel, Division of Cardiology, Texas Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor School of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA (KST).
• Kim Williams, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA (KW).
• Sheldon E. Litwin, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA (SEL).
• Lily Nedda Dastmalchi, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA (LND).
• Beth Ann White, Marshall Health, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, WV, USA (BAW).
• Neal Barnard, Adjunct Faculty, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, USA (NB).
• Dean Ornish, Division of Cardiology and Department of Medicine, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Uniform Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.
• Travis Batts, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, San Antonio, TX, USA (TB).
• George Ajene, Division of Cardiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA (GA).
• Karen Aspry, Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA (KA).
• Penny Kris Etherton, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA (PKE).
• Sarah C. Hull, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA (KFF).
• Andrew M. Freeman, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA (AMF).

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2026

Journal

American journal of lifestyle medicine

Volume

20

Issue

1

DOI

10.1177/15598276241269532

Keywords

COVID-19; cardiovascular disease; lifestyle; nutrition

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) are highly prevalent globally. The interplay between CVD/CMR and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality has been intensely studied over the last three years and has yielded some important discoveries and warnings for public health. Despite many advances in cardiovascular medicine, CVD continues to be the global leading cause of death. Much of this disease burden results from high CMR imposed by behaviors centered around poor nutrition related to lifestyle choices and systemic constraints. Increased CVD/CMR contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic's unprecedented wave of disability and death, and the current state of cardiovascular health been equated to a "Population Code Blue." There is an urgent and unmet need to reorient our priorities towards health promotion and disease prevention. This manuscript will review how nutrition and lifestyle affect outcomes in COVID-19 and how some interventions and healthy lifestyle choices can markedly reduce disease burden, morbidity, and mortality.

APA Citation

Reddy, Koushik R.; Faridi, Kamil F.; Aggarwal, Monica; Tirumalai, Adithi A.; Singh, Tamanna; Tejtel, Kristen S.; Williams, Kim; Litwin, Sheldon E.; Dastmalchi, Lily Nedda; White, Beth Ann; Barnard, Neal; Ornish, Dean; Batts, Travis; Ajene, George; Aspry, Karen; Kris Etherton, Penny; Hull, Sarah C.; and Freeman, Andrew M., "Proposed Mechanisms and Associations of COVID-19 with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors" (2026). GW Authored Works. Paper 8651.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/8651

Department

Medicine