Cardiac Damage After SARS-CoV2 Infection.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Cardiovascular Medicine

Background:

• COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) can affect multiple organs, raising concerns about potential long-term cardiac sequelae.
• Understanding the extent of cardiac damage following SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for patient management and recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential long-term cardiac damage in COVID-19 patients.
• To assess cardiac function using electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography at three and six months post-infection.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 97 COVID-19 patients (aged 18-80) divided into two groups based on infection severity.
• Resting ECG and transthoracic echocardiography were performed at three and six months after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Key endpoints included heart rate, QTc time, repolarization, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and E/E'.

Main Results:

• Heart rate was significantly lower at six months compared to three months post-infection (p=0.024).
• While LVEDD normalized to body surface area and E/E' showed statistically significant changes between time points and groups, all measured values remained within normal ranges.
• No significant differences in primary ECG or echocardiographic endpoints were observed between severity subgroups at three and six months.

Conclusions:

• The study found no significant evidence of long-term cardiac damage from COVID-19 based on ECG and echocardiography at three and six months.
• Observed changes in heart rate, LVEDD, and E/E' were within normal physiological limits and did not indicate persistent cardiac injury.
• Further research may be warranted, but current findings suggest a low risk of lasting cardiac damage from COVID-19.