Sinus Tachycardia Following COVID-19 and Its Implications

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Sinus tachycardia is a recognized finding in post-COVID-19 syndrome.
• Understanding persistent tachycardia after SARS-COV-2 infection is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of sinus tachycardia 12-16 weeks post-SARS-COV-2 diagnosis.
• To analyze the correlation between post-COVID-19 tachycardia and intensive care, ventilator use, and mortality.
• To compare outcomes in vaccinated versus unvaccinated patients with post-COVID-19 tachycardia.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of adult patients diagnosed with SARS-COV-2 from January 2020 to February 2022.
• Cohort creation comparing patients with and without tachycardia 12-16 weeks post-diagnosis.
• Propensity score matching (PSM) to control for confounding variables.
• Stratification of tachycardia cohort by vaccination status.

Main Results:

• 2.2% of 1,363,907 patients developed persistent tachycardia.
• Tachycardia patients had higher mortality (5.1% vs 2.1%), critical care use (5.8% vs 2.2%), and ventilator use (1.8% vs 0.5%) post-PSM.
• Unvaccinated patients with tachycardia showed significantly higher mortality, critical care, and ventilator use compared to vaccinated counterparts post-PSM.

Conclusions:

• Persistent tachycardia is a notable complication of SARS-COV-2 infection with a prevalence of 2.2%.
• Patients with persistent tachycardia experience increased mortality and healthcare utilization.
• Unvaccinated individuals with post-COVID-19 tachycardia face disproportionately higher risks.