A new method to measure Baroreflex sensitivity impairment in Long Covid patients with Hyperadrenergic POTS-like symptoms

Long Covid is the expression used to describe a variety of COVID-19 side effects lasting longer than three months. Within these side effects are cardiovascular alterations, such as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) caused by an autonomic nervous system dysfunction. A higher incidence of POTS and decreased baroreceptor sensitivity was found in Long Covid patients. Many of these patients suffer from orthostatic intolerance similar to those of POTS patients that do not strictly coincide with the criteria that have previously been established for POTS subtypes. Therefore, to further describe the Orthostatic Intolerance we created a new method that better characterizes cardiovascular changes. Because these changes are reflected in the baroreceptor sensitivity measure, this new method consists in a geometrical analysis, where a decrease in baroreceptor sensitivity (BRS) is shown; this BRS measurement is added to the variables that have been considered, to improve the diagnostic of patients with POTS. The proposed method does not necessarily require an algorithm like other methods in order to be performed, and generates a graph that can be easily interpreted. Furthermore, it gives information that aligns with the patient’s current heart rate variability status.