Myocardial Dysfunction and Risk of Long COVID in Patients Recovered From Mild and Moderate COVID-19

IF 1.6 4区医学 Q3 CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS

Echocardiography-A Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound and Allied Techniques Pub Date : 2025-03-03 DOI:10.1111/echo.70120

Binyu Zhou, Yiran Zhang, Shuang Han, Jiqing Zhang, Lin Song, Haiyan Wang

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Abstract

Purpose

Numerous recovered COVID-19 patients exhibit persistent cardiovascular symptoms. However, the degree of myocardial dysfunction and its associated risk factors remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate myocardial dysfunction in recovered patients and pinpoint predictors of persistent cardiovascular symptoms.

Methods

We reviewed the echocardiograms of patients who recovered from mild or moderate COVID-19 and presented with cardiovascular symptoms during the Omicron surge. Myocardial strain was analyzed in 546 patients before and after infection, and in 351 prepandemic healthy controls. Clinical follow-up at 12 months post-infection was used to evaluated symptom persistence, and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors.

Results

Baseline characteristics showed no significant differences between patients and controls (all p > 0.05). Although the left ventricle global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) remained stable post-infection, significant reductions emerged in regional left ventricle longitudinal strains (LVLS) and all left atrial strains (LAS) (all p < 0.05). Persistent cardiovascular symptoms affected 16.5% (90/546) of patients at 1-year follow-up. Multivariate analysis showed that only LA conduit strain (OR = 0.919, 95% CI: 0.857, 0.985, p = 0.017) and basal inferoseptal LVLS (OR = 0.883, 95% CI: 0.792, 0.986, p = 0.026) correlated with persisting cardiovascular symptoms.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that subclinical but persistent COVID-19-associated myocardial dysfunction is characterized by regional LVLS impairment and LAS reduction. The identified strain parameters (LAScd and basal inferoseptal LVLS) serve as novel imaging markers for stratifying patients at risk of persistent cardiovascular symptoms. These results advocate for targeted echocardiographic surveillance and early intervention strategies in post-COVID care pathways.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06170307

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来源期刊

Echocardiography-A Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound and Allied Techniques 医学-心血管系统

CiteScore

2.40

自引率

6.70%

发文量

211

审稿时长

3-6 weeks

期刊介绍： Echocardiography: A Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound and Allied Techniques is the official publication of the International Society of Cardiovascular Ultrasound. Widely recognized for its comprehensive peer-reviewed articles, case studies, original research, and reviews by international authors. Echocardiography keeps its readership of echocardiographers, ultrasound specialists, and cardiologists well informed of the latest developments in the field.