Key result
Moderate to severe COVID-19 is linked to ~9% lower 6-month LVEF versus mild disease.
Why the study?
Little is documented about cardiac complications during the post COVID-19 recovery phase.
Does moderate/severe COVID-19 infection lead to worse long-term cardiac dysfunction compared to mild infection in patients without prior cardiac disease?
Observational (n=63)
No
Does moderate/severe COVID-19 infection lead to worse long-term cardiac dysfunction compared to mild infection in patients without prior cardiac disease?
Absolute Event Rate: 51.1% vs 59.7%
p-value: p=<0.0001
Patients recovering from moderate to severe COVID-19 exhibit reduced LVEF and increased LV diastolic dysfunction at 6 months, highlighting the utility of echocardiographic and NT-proBNP follow-up for early heart failure recognition.
Lower LVEF and diastolic dysfunction at 6 months post-COVID were linked to acute severity; leaves open need for targeted surveillance in observational cohorts.
Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It usually presents as a respiratory syndrome but also known to cause many cardiovascular complications during acute phase. However, little is documented about cardiac complications during the post COVID-19 recovery phase. Therefore, this prospective observational study was planned to evaluate cardiovascular effects of the disease in patients recovering from COVID-19.Methods: This was a prospective observational study with a total of 63 patients presenting at 6-month follow-up in post COVID-19 outpatient clinics. Patients with known cases of underlying ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, or any other cardiac disorder, and patients with chronic lung disorder or severe anemia were excluded.Results: Dyspnea was the most common presenting complaint. In biochemical parameters, none of them showed any significant difference between these two groups including NT pro BNP, ferritin, CK-MB. But NT pro BNP was high in moderate/severe cases, especially those having reduced ejection fraction. On echocardiographic evaluation, LVEF was low in moderate/severe group patients (59.7% vs. 51.1%, p<0.0001). LV diastolic dysfunction was also observed more commonly in moderate/severe group patients (55.9% vs. 86.2%, p= 0.009). There was no significant difference in RV function assessment parameters.Conclusion: Patients in the moderate/severe group during index hospitalization for COVID-19 should be followed up with NT Pro BNP and echocardiography. This may help in early recognition of heart failure during follow-up of COVID-19 patients.
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Sharma et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Post COVID-19 recovery (n=63). Moderate to severe COVID-19 vs. Mild COVID-19 was evaluated on Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p=<0.0001). Patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 had significantly lower left ventricular ejection fraction (51.1% vs. 59.7%) at 6-month follow-up compared to those with mild disease.
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