Sophia-Antipolis, 9 December 2021: A small study has suggested that COVID-19 patients who continue to be short of breath during physical activity one year after recovering from the infection may have suffered heart damage. The research is presented today at EuroEcho 2021, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1
“The findings could help to explain why some patients with long COVID still experience breathlessness one year later and indicate that it might be linked to a decrease in heart performance,” said study author Dr. Maria-Luiza Luchian of University Hospital Brussels, Belgium.
There is increasing evidence of cardiovascular complications due to COVID-19 and of long-lasting symptoms such as dyspnoea (shortness of breath), known as long COVID.2,3 This study investigated whether subclinical heart abnormalities were more common in long COVID patients with dyspnoea – thereby potentially explaining the reason for their symptoms.
The study included 66 patients without previous heart or lung disease who were hospitalised with COVID-19 between March and April 2020 at University Hospital Brussels. At one-year after hospital discharge, spirometry together with chest computed tomography were used to assess lung function and possible sequela of COVID-19. Cardiac ultrasound was performed to examine heart function and included a new imaging technique called myocardial work which provides more precise information on heart function than previous methods.
The average age of participants was 50 years and 67% were men. At one year, 23 patients (35%) had shortness of breath during effort.
The researchers examined the association between imaging measures of heart function and shortness of breath at one year after adjusting for age and gender. The analysis showed that abnormal heart function was independently and significantly associated with persistent dyspnoea. Cardiac imaging revealed poorer heart performance in patients with versus without dyspnoea at one year after hospitalisation due to COVID-19.
Dr. Luchian said: “Our study shows that more than a third of COVID-19 patients with no history of heart or lung disease had persistent dyspnoea on effort a year after discharge from hospital. When looking in detail at heart function by cardiac ultrasound, we observed subtle abnormalities that might explain the continued breathlessness.”
She concluded: “Myocardial work could be a new echocardiographic tool for early identification of heart function abnormalities in patients with long COVID-19, who might need more frequent and long-term cardiac surveillance. Future studies including different COVID-19 variants and the impact of vaccination are needed to confirm our results on the long-term evolution and possible cardiac consequences of this disease.”
ENDS
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Notes to editor
Funding: None.
Disclosures: None.
References and notes
1The abstract ‘Persistent dyspnea 1 year after COVID-19 infection in apparently healthy subjects: a potential indicator of subclinical cardiac dysfunction’ will be presented during the session ‘More insights from imaging into outcome after COVID-19 infection’ which takes place on 9 December at 16:00 CET in Live discussion room 1.
2Maestrini V, Birtolo LI, Francone M, et al. Cardiac involvement in consecutive unselected hospitalized COVID-19 population: In-hospital evaluation and one-year follow-up. Int J Cardiol. 2021;339:235–242.
3Varghese J, Sandmann S, Ochs K, et al. Persistent symptoms and lab abnormalities in patients who recovered from COVID-19. Sci Rep. 2021;11:12775.
EuroEcho is the flagship congress of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI).
About the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI)
The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) - a branch of the ESC - is the world leading network of Cardiovascular Imaging (CVI) experts, gathering four imaging modalities under one entity (Echocardiography, Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac Computed Tomography). Its aim is to promote excellence in clinical diagnosis, research, technical development, and education in cardiovascular imaging. The EACVI welcomes over 11,000 professionals including cardiologists, sonographers, nurses, basic scientists and allied professionals.
About the European Society of Cardiology
The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.
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