Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2025
Quantification of Antibody-dependent Enhancement of the Zika Virus in Primary Human Cells
Published on: January 18, 2019
Is Prior Zika Virus Infection Associated With Cardiovascular Disease?
Diego Vasquez1, Ana Palacio2, Peter Chedraui3
1Department of Epidemiology, Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, ECU.
Background:
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is associated with severe complications. Recently, reports have raised the possibility of cardiovascular complications. However, the complications that are reported are in case reports and occur immediately after infection. Our aim is to evaluate the cardiovascular complications of ZIKV infection in a younger patient population.
Methods:
We conducted a prospective cohort and included patients with a one-year history of prior confirmed ZIKV infection. We performed an echocardiogram, a 24-hour automated blood pressure, and a 24-hour Holter. Our primary outcome included a composite of having diastolic dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy, arrhythmias, valvular regurgitation, premature beats, or non-dipper status.
Results:
We included 47 patients with ZIKV and 16 patients without ZIKV. Patients with ZIKV had a similar age as controls (p>0.05). Having had a prior ZIKV infection was associated with diastolic dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy, valvular regurgitation, arrhythmias or premature beats, and non-dipper status (p<0.05). The adjusted OR of having the primary outcome was 2.3; 95% CI 1.3-2.7. After one year, IL-10 and C-reactive protein (CRP) were higher in ZIKV-infected patients compared to controls (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
Our study found that young patients with a prior ZIKV infection have more echocardiographic, arrhythmic, and blood pressure changes when compared to similar-aged controls.
