Clinical and echocardiographic findings in patients with COVID-19 across different severity levels

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• COVID-19 can lead to cardiovascular complications.
• Understanding cardiac involvement is crucial for predicting COVID-19 severity and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify echocardiographic abnormalities in COVID-19 patients.
• To determine key prognostic factors for severe and fatal COVID-19 outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 194 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
• Analysis of clinical and echocardiogram data.
• Comparison of moderate, severe (favorable outcome), and severe (fatal outcome) groups.

Main Results:

• Severe COVID-19 with favorable outcomes showed reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and diastolic dysfunction compared to moderate cases.
• Fatal COVID-19 cases exhibited significantly decreased left ventricular ejection fraction, myocardial dysfunction, and a trend towards pulmonary hypertension compared to severe cases with favorable outcomes.
• Key cardiac risk factors for severe COVID-19 progression and mortality included chronic heart failure, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, myocardial dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension.

Conclusions:

• Echocardiographic findings are vital indicators of COVID-19 severity.
• Chronic heart failure, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, myocardial dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension are significant predictors of poor prognosis in COVID-19.
• Targeting these cardiac factors may improve management of severe COVID-19.