text: Role of the Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone and Kinin Kallikrein Systems in the Cardiovascular Complications of COVID 19 and Long COVID Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 SARS CoV 2 is the virus responsible for the COVID 19 pandemic Patients may present as asymptomatic or demonstrate mild to severe and life threatening symptoms Although COVID 19 has a respiratory focus there are major cardiovascular complications CVCs associated with infection The reported CVCs include myocarditis heart failure arrhythmias thromboembolism and blood pressure abnormalities These occur in part because of dysregulation of the Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System RAAS and Kinin Kallikrein System KKS A major route by which SARS CoV 2 gains cellular entry is via the docking of the viral spike S protein to the membrane bound angiotensin converting enzyme 2 ACE2 The roles of ACE2 within the cardiovascular and immune systems are vital to ensure homeostasis The key routes for the development of CVCs and the recently described long COVID have been hypothesised as the direct consequences of the viral S protein ACE2 axis downregulation of ACE2 and the resulting damage inflicted by the immune response Here we review the impact of COVID 19 on the cardiovascular system the mechanisms by which dysregulation of the RAAS and KKS can occur following virus infection and the future implications for pharmacological therapies 