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In this episode, we speak with Dr. Antonio Frontera, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan (at the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy). He talks about the topics in his article, Severe Air Pollution Links to Higher Mortality in COVID-19 Patients: the ‘Double-Hit’ Hypothesis, which  is a compilation of his research on the correlation between cities with higher air pollution and COVID-19 outbreaks.

His projects include research in development of non-invasive mapping strategies and developing ablation strategies for atrial fibrillation. Also, Dr. Frontera is quite prolific in his publications, which range from topics in RF ablation, to research in frequent foreign body airway obstructions, to the analysis of the reshaping of intensive care unit facilities in large metropolitan hospitals in Milan due to COVID-19.

Thanks for joining us for this wonderful opportunity to learn from one of the leading researchers on the COVID pandemic. Enjoy!

Talking points:

• Introduction (00:00)
• The focus of Dr. Frontera’s work (00:54)
• The effects of COVID-19 on the heart and cardiac rhythm (01:44)
• The focus of Dr. Frontera’s research for COVID-19 (03:25)
• The difference between the increased spread of infection due to dense population versus increased spread of infection due to pollution (10:11)
• Pollution and mortality rate (11:48)
• Dr. Frontera’s advice for clinicians based on his research (13:50)
• Thank you to Dr. Frontera and conclusion (15:05)

Resources: 

“Severe air pollution links to higher mortality in COVID-19 patients: the “double-hit” hypothesis."
Journal of Infection. 2020 May 21.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7240268/