Many recovered COVID-19 patients still show signs of right ventricular dysfunction and diastolic dysfunction three months after hospitalization, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers examined 204 patients who had been previously hospitalized with COVID-19. All patients were treated in Norway from February 2020 to June 2020. Fifty-six percent of patients were men, and the mean patient age was 58.5 years old. The study also included 204 matched controls.
Overall, according to the results of 24-hour ECGs, patients with COVID‐19 had worse right ventricle free wall longitudinal strain, lower tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and lower cardiac index. Reduced diastolic function was also twice as common for the recovered COVID-19 patients than the control group.
Arrhythmias were also found in 27% of recovered COVID-19 patients, primarily premature ventricular contractions and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, but the clinical significance of this specific finding is unknown.
“Patients with symptomatic palpitations three months after COVID‐19 should be considered for at least 24‐hour monitoring of heart rhythm,” wrote lead author Charlotte B. Ingul, MD, PhD, of the department of circulation and medical imaging at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway, and colleagues.
Read the full study here.