Cardiovascular Disease in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Narrative Review on the Impact of Lifestyle Behaviors

Abstract

Responsible for ~18 million global deaths annually, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality that negatively affects population health and well-being. Despite increased knowledge and advancements in medicine, technology, and an array of global initiatives to slow the prevalence of CVD across the world in recent decades, future projections for prevalence and the wider societal and economic impacts are alarming. It is outlined in this review that little progress is being made against a series of landmark initiatives and that, in a postpandemic world, we might need to consider innovative approaches to tackle the unprecedented growth and projections in CVD prevalence. To address the sustained reductions in positive health behaviors which is coupled with an established rise in cardiovascular risk factors and events following infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, there is an urgent public health challenge that lies ahead. Accordingly, we must establish bespoke systems that can recognize and address the complexity and interactive and interdisciplinary nature of chronic diseases. Future approaches must heed learning from the many previous unsuccessful approaches that have not been appropriately monitored or evaluated. Establishing or aligning international and collaborative approaches that have a clear mandate to oversee the development and implementation of analysis of global surveillance and interventions is needed to address the spiraling growth in CVD prevalence, healthcare costs, morbidity, and mortality.