**1. Introduction**

According to the WHO, there has been a recent increase in the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially in low and middle-income countries [1]. It is estimated that 17.7 million people died from CVD in 2015, representing 31% of all deaths globally [2]. In 2020, CVDs are the number 1 cause of death globally, taking an estimated of 17.9 million lives each year [3, 4].

COVID-19 again brought the need to discussion an extremely relevant topic that was of concern during the SARS-CoV-1 (SARS - 2002) and Middle East Respiratory Distress Syndrome (MERS - 2013) epidemics, the increase incidence of cardiovascular disease among patients [5]. Studies show that patients with comorbidities, such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes [6] and elderly people [7] are, among other factors, risk factor for severe illness by SARS-CoV-2. Also, COVID-19 is caused by the binding of the viral surface spike protein to the human angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor following activation of the spike protein by transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) [8]. Thus, the cardiovascular impacts by COVID-19 pandemic are not yet well established although publications about its potential deleterious effects are constant.

Aimed to carry a systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis, the following question was used as a guide: what practical contributions does the scientific literature produced in the period of 2019-2020 has to offer about the impact of the COVID-19 on cardiovascular system? This review highlights that in a pandemic period, cardiovascular pathologies are risk factors from a worsening result. The pandemic prevention and control measures can also be used as a way to prevent cardiovascular diseases on the population, since fewer people exposed to the virus means less cardiovascular risk.
