Correlation Between Baseline Troponin Level and The Severity of Pulmonary Hypertension 3 Months After COVID-19 Infection in Subjects without Previous Significant Cardiovascular Pathology

Abstract

Background: A serious medical condition linked to pulmonary hypertension (PH), right ventricular dysfunction (RVD), and cardiovascular consequences is coronavirus (Covid-19) infection. Objective: This study aimed to assess the relation between the rise of cardiac troponin at base line investigation of COVID patients and the development of pulmonary hypertension 3 months after recovery from the infection. Subjects and methods: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive study and included 104 non-critically ill patients 3 months after recovery from Covid-19 pneumonia. They were divided into 2 groups; mild cases and moderate/severe non-critically ill cases based on the WHO criteria at the time of admission. Troponin at the time of admission was measured. A full echocardiographic assessment of the right ventricle was done, and the pulmonary artery systolic pressure was calculated for every patient. Results: In COVID-19, PH is a common complication encountered after recovery, especially in moderate/severe (non-critically ill) cases. We observed increased incidence of PH in the moderate/severe group 3 months’ post-recovery, significantly correlated with the initial levels of the cardiac troponin at admission ( p ˂ 0.001). Conclusions: There was a statistically significant positive correlation between troponin I levels at baseline admission and the development of pulmonary hypertension (r2 = 0.696, p = < 0.001) 3 months after recovery from the infection.