Key result
At 4 months follow-up after hospitalization for COVID-19, there was a trend toward normalization of myocardial function, with 82.5% of patients having a normal echocardiogram compared to 67.5% during hospitalization (p=0.07).
Why the study?
It was unknown whether myocardial function changes after recovery in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and whether changes relate to elevated cardiac biomarkers.
Does myocardial function assessed by echocardiography change at 4 months follow-up compared to during hospitalization for COVID-19?
Cohort (n=40)
No
Does myocardial function assessed by echocardiography change at 4 months follow-up compared to during hospitalization for COVID-19?
Absolute Event Rate: 82.5% vs 67.5%
p-value: p=0.07
Myocardial function shows a trend towards normalization at 4 months post-COVID-19 hospitalization, primarily driven by improvements in RV diameter and global longitudinal strain.
Myocardial function largely normalizes post-COVID hospitalization; supports hypothesis-generating biomarker independence but requires larger prospective confirmation.
In patients hospitalized for corona virus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19) it is currently unknown whether myocardial function changes after recovery and whether this is related to elevated cardiac biomarkers. In this single center, prospective cohort study we consecutively enrolled hospitalized COVID-19 patients between 1 April and 12 May 2020. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) evaluation during hospitalization and at a median of 131 days (IQR; 116-136) follow-up. Of the 51 patients included at baseline, 40 (age: 62 years (IQR; 54-68), 78% male) were available for follow-up TTE. At baseline, 68% of the patients had a normal TTE, regarding left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) volumes and function, compared to 83% at follow-up (p = 0.07). Median LV ejection fraction (60% vs. 58%, p = 0.54) and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (23 vs 22 mm, p = 0.18) were comparable between hospitalization and follow-up, but a significantly lower RV diameter (39 vs. 34 mm, p = 0.002) and trend towards better global longitudinal strain (GLS) (- 18.5% vs - 19.1%, p = 0.07) was found at follow-up. Subgroup analysis showed no relation between patients with and without elevated TroponinT and/or NT-proBNP during hospitalization and myocardial function at follow-up. Although there were no significant differences in individual myocardial function parameters at 4 months follow-up compared to hospitalisation for COVID-19, there was an overall trend towards normalization in myocardial function, predominantly due to a higher rate of normal GLS at follow-up.
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Heuvel et al. (2021) conducted a cohort in COVID-19 (n=40). 4 months follow-up after COVID-19 hospitalization vs. During COVID-19 hospitalization was evaluated on Normal transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) regarding LV and RV volumes and function (p=0.07). At 4 months follow-up after hospitalization for COVID-19, there was a trend toward normalization of myocardial function, with 82.5% of patients having a normal echocardiogram compared to 67.5% during hospitalization (p=0.07).
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