| Sumario: | BACKGROUND: The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus inflicts far-reaching health decrements, both directly and through secondary inflammatory stimulation. To date, there is little information regarding the effects of COVID-19 on the heart after infection, especially among young healthy adults. PURPOSE: We sought to determine whether contracting SARS-CoV-2 affects cardiac function in young, otherwise healthy adults, weeks after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: Transthoracic echocardiography was performed on 14 subjects with SARS-CoV-2 (8F/6M, 21±1y, 24±3 kg⋅m-1) who tested positive 3-4 weeks prior to study test date. A parasternal long-axis view was utilized to measure septal and left ventricular posterior wall thickness, left ventricular volume, and left ventricular outflow tract dimensions. A four-chamber view was utilized to measure mitral valve function, diastolic function, end diastolic and systolic volume, and ejection fraction. Z-tests were performed to determine if these values were significantly different from sex- and age-matched normative values with significance set at p<0.01 (mean±SD). RESULTS: The left ventricular diastolic mass and index were found to be higher in both female (Mass: 173±52g, Index: 95±18g/m^2) and male (Mass: 214±34g, Index: 110±15g/m^2) subjects with SARS-CoV-2 compared to reference values (Female Mass: 104±28g, Female Index: 62±15g/m^2, Male Mass: 143±39g, Male Index: 72±18g/m^2) (p<0.01). Septal wall e' was elevated in both female (0.16±0.05m/s) and male (0.15±0.01m/s) subjects compared to reference values (Female: 0.12±0.2m/s, Male: 0.12±0.03m/s) (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The current findings suggest subclinical alterations to the myocardium of young adults who have recently contracted SARS-CoV-2. These results warrant further review to examine whether low-level myocardial inflammation or interstitial edema may be present and whether persistent systemic vascular resistance may be causing left ventricular dysfunction and wall thickening.
|
|---|