Preoperative COVID-19 Testing for Cardiovascular Procedures in Endemic Areas Should be Mandatory

THE 2019 CORONAVIRUS infectious disease (COVID-19), caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in the death of more 630,000 patients worldwide and has greatly impacted both medicine and society. Two main clinical manifestations in patients with COVID-19 are acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and thromboembolic events from an induced hypercoagulable state. In order to accommodate for surges in COVID-19 cases, medical centers across the globe have canceled or severely limited nonemergent surgical cases. As institutions cautiously reopen and initiate elective surgeries, preoperative testing is an important topic for patient and provider safety. Preoperative testing for COVID-19 in cardiovascular procedures should be performed to detect asymptomatic patients in order to reduce harm, protect healthcare providers, and for epidemiologic reasons, such as contact tracing for infected healthcare providers.