Does Cardiac Arrhythmia Predict Worse Outcome in Mild or Moderate Covid-19 Infection?

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• COVID-19 is a multisystem disease primarily affecting the lungs.
• Cardiac involvement in COVID-19 includes elevated troponins, arrhythmias, and ventricular dysfunction.
• The incidence and predictive value of arrhythmias in COVID-19 require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of arrhythmias in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.
• To assess whether new-onset arrhythmias predict disease worsening or mortality.
• To identify risk factors associated with COVID-19 illness progression.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational study of 85 patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.
• Continuous Holter monitoring to detect cardiac arrhythmias.
• Univariate and multivariate analyses to identify predictors of worsening illness.

Main Results:

• New-onset arrhythmias were detected in 10.5% of patients.
• Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) occurred in 8.2% of patients, with 6 of 7 showing worsening illness (p=0.006).
• Independent predictors of worsening illness included D-dimer elevation and SVT (p=0.033).

Conclusions:

• COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias.
• The development of supraventricular tachycardia in COVID-19 patients predicts higher morbidity and disease worsening.
• Early detection and management of arrhythmias may be crucial in COVID-19 care.