The potential relationship between mental health during the COVID-19 crisis and cardiovascular diseases: time to break the vicious cycle (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an on-going global health issue with many mental health consequences including stress, anxiety, depression and suicides. These are known to be associated with cardiovascular diseases which may adversely affect patients’ outcomes. As the pandemic progresses, the incidence of mental disorders with high-risk of cardiovascular disease also increases and this can negatively impact disease control of COVID-19 infection. There is an urgent need to break this vicious cycle to reduce the burden of COVID-19 disease.