Background Coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) has been associated with an increased risk of acute cardiac events. However, the effect of COVID‐19 on repolarization heterogeneity is not yet established. In this study, we evaluated electrocardiogram (ECG) markers of repolarization heterogeneity in patients hospitalized with COVID‐19. In addition, we performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis of the published studies. Methods QT dispersion (QTd), the interval between T wave peak to T wave end (TpTe), TpTe/QT (with and without correction), QRS width, and the index of cardio‐electrophysiological balance (iCEB) were calculated in 101 hospitalized COVID‐19 patients and it was compared with 101 non‐COVID‐19 matched controls. A systematic review was performed in four databases and meta‐analysis was conducted using Stata software. Results Tp‐Te, TpTe/QT, QRS width, and iCEB were significantly increased in COVID‐19 patients compared with controls (TpTe = 82.89 vs. 75.33 ms (ms), p‐value = .005; TpTe/QT = 0.217 vs. 0.203 ms, p‐value = .026). After a meta‐analysis of 679 COVID‐19 cases and 526 controls from 9 studies, TpTe interval, TpTe/QT, and TpTe/QTc ratios were significantly increased in COVID‐19 patients. Meta‐regression analysis moderated by age, gender, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and smoking reduced the heterogeneity. QTd showed no significant correlation with COVID‐19. Conclusion COVID‐19 adversely influences the ECG markers of transmural heterogeneity of repolarization. Studies evaluating the predictive value of these ECG markers are warranted to determine their clinical utility.

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Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) has become an increasingly recognized cause of acute coronary syndrome, particularly in young women, over the last decade. The goal of this study was to determine the prognoses and characteristics of adult women with SCAD who presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled all adult women under the age of 60 who had undergone coronary artery angiography in the setting of STEMI. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on their angiographic characteristics: STEMI-SCAD (STEMI due to SCAD), STEMI-ATH (STEMI caused by an atherosclerotic lesion), and STEMI-others (STEMI due to other etiologies including Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and myopericarditis, as well as STEMI despite a normal epicardial coronary angiography). Results: Fifteen women out of 311 female patients aged below 60 years with STEMI were diagnosed with SCAD (4.8%). There were no significant differences in body mass index, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking status, opium addiction status, family history, previous percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting, and cerebrovascular accidents between the STEMI-SCAD and STEMI-ATH groups. Nevertheless, the STEMI-SCAD and STEMIothers groups were more likely to be younger, less likely to be diabetic, and less likely to have 3 cardiovascular risk factors or more than was the STEMI-ATH group. The left anterior descending artery was the most common culprit lesion in the STEMI-SCAD group (80%) and the other 2 groups. Out of the 311 patients, 7 patients died during the index hospitalization: 1 patient in the STEMI-SCAD group, 6 patients in the STEMI-ATH group, and 0 patients in the STEMI-others group. None of the patients in the STEMI-others group experienced any major adverse cardiac events during the follow-up. In the other 2 groups, the most experienced outcomes were myocardial infarction and in-hospital cardiac death, followed by target lesion revascularization and target vessel revascularization. Conclusions: STEMI-SCAD is one of the known causes of STEMI in young women. Still, despite the complexity of revascularization in our patients with STEMI-SCAD, they had more favorable prognoses in both conservative and revascularization management modalities than our patients with STEMI-ATH.