Cardiac symptoms in patients 3-6 months after contracting COVID-19- data from the polish STOP-COVID registry
Mateusz Babicki1, Joanna Kapusta2, Damian Kołat3,4,5
1Department of Family Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, 51-141, Poland.
Insights
Long COVID patients frequently experience cardiac symptoms like fatigue and palpitations. This study found palpitations linked to increased ventricular extrasystoles and higher anxiety/depression scores.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Persistent cardiac symptoms are common in long COVID patients 3-6 months post-infection.
- Common complaints include fatigue, weakness, and palpitations.
- Anxiety and depression may influence long COVID clinical outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate clinical features of persistent cardiological symptoms post-COVID-19.
- To compare ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), Holter ECG, and Echocardiography in patients with and without cardiac symptoms.
- To assess the role of anxiety and depression in long COVID cardiological symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 1080 patients from the STOP-COVID registry, 3-6 months post-COVID-19.
- Clinical assessment of symptoms, ABPM, Holter ECG, and Echocardiography.
- Administration of Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2) and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) tests to 504 patients.
Main Results:
- Over half (54.3%) of patients reported at least one cardiac symptom, with fatigue being most common (38.9%).
- Patients with palpitations exhibited significantly higher mean ventricular extrasystole counts (p=0.011).
- Significant differences were observed in PHQ-2 (p=0.022) and GAD-2 (p<0.001) scores between patients with and without cardiac symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Cardiological symptoms are a prevalent post-COVID-19 health issue.
- Palpitations in long COVID patients are associated with increased ventricular extrasystoles.
- Anxiety and depression symptoms correlate with the presence of cardiac symptoms.
Background:
Common complaints of long COVID patients are cardiac symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and a feeling of palpitations. The study aimed to investigate the clinical features of patients with persistent cardiological symptoms occurring within 3 to 6 months after COVID-19. Differences in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), Holter ECG (electrocardiogram) and Echocardiography between people with and without persistent cardiological symptoms were evaluated. We also assessed whether the symptoms of anxiety and depression may be implicated in the clinical outcomes.
Materials And Methods:
This was a retrospective study of patients affiliated with the STOP-COVID registry who attended a follow-up visit 3-6 months after undergoing COVID-19. The visit assessed the clinical symptoms present and performed tests: ABPM, Holter ECG and Echocardiography. 504 patients additionally had GAD-2 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item) and PHQ-2 (Patient Health Questionnaire-2) tests performed.
Results:
The analysis included 1080 patients. At least 1 of the analyzed symptoms was present in 586 patients (54.3%). The most common symptom was fatigue (38.9%). Comparing patients with or without palpitations showed that the mean value of ventricular extrasystole was higher in the former group (p = 0.011). Comparing patients with and without cardiac symptoms, there were differences in the mean values of the PHQ-2 (p = 0.022) and GAD-2 (p < 0.001) scales, as well as in the percentage of responses related to the risk of anxiety or depression.
Conclusion:
Cardiological symptoms are common among health issues that patients must face after contracting COVID-19. People with palpitations had more excessive ventricular extrasystoles than patients without these symptoms.
Trial Registration:
Our retrospective study was based on analysis of medical data of patients with COVID-19 treated on out-patient basis in the STOP-COVID registry of the Polish Long-Covid Cardiovascular (PoLoCOV-CVD) study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier- NCT05018052, the registration date 29.05.2020). Consent to conduct the study was obtained from the Bioethics Committee of the District Medical Chamber in Lodz (no. KB-0115/2021).
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