Cureus. 2023 Apr 24;15(4):e38039. doi: 10.7759/cureus.38039. eCollection 2023 Apr.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has frequent acute cardiovascular manifestations, but long-term sequelae are yet to be described. Our main objective is to describe the echocardiographic findings of patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.
METHODS: A single-center prospective study was conducted. Patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were selected and submitted to a transthoracic echocardiogram six months after infection. A complete echocardiographic assessment was performed, including tissue Doppler, E/E' ratio, and ventricular longitudinal strain. Patients were divided into two subgroups according to their need for admission to the ICU.
RESULTS: A total of 88 patients were enrolled. The mean values and respective standard deviations of the echocardiographic parameters were as follows: left ventricular ejection fraction 60.8 ± 5.9%; left ventricular longitudinal strain 17.9 ± 3.6%; tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion 22.1 ± 3.6 mm; a longitudinal strain of the free wall of the right ventricle 19.0 ± 6.0%. We found no statistically significant differences between subgroups.
CONCLUSIONS: At the six-month follow-up, we found no significant impact of past SARS-CoV-2 infection on the heart using echocardiography parameters.
PMID:37228525 | PMC:PMC10207971 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.38039