'Reassuring' new study suggests heart damage from severe COVID-19 doesn't get worse

Heart damage caused by COVID-19 does not appear to worsen after patients are released from hospital, according to a study published this week.

The peer-reviewed study, conducted by a team from Monash University's Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and University College London, looked at unvaccinated COVID-19 patients who were hospitalised.

A total of 235 patients were surveyed during their hospital stay and for 6 months after discharge.

They found that after six months, some of the scarring in the heart remained unchanged, but inflammation and overall quality of life had improved.

“Unvaccinated patients with severe COVID-19 and evidence of myocardial damage may also suffer significant long-term cardiac sequelae. [after-effects] It is rare, and the health of most patients improves.

“[No participant] showed new evidence of microinfarction [blood supply obstructions].

“This is a sign that further thromboembolism may occur. [blood clotting] COVID-19 related events do not occur after the initial infection subsides.

“An almost universal solution [health conditions] The findings … also indicate that the inflammatory effects of COVID-19 on the pericardium, pleura and lungs are generally not short-lived.”

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The report was published Thursday in the scientific journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.

The paper was published with commentary from Dr. Yuchi Han, chief of cardiac imaging at Ohio State University, and Dr. Mahesh Vidura, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

“There was no subacute deterioration in cardiac function and few adverse events at 12 months.”

“However, there are important issues that require further investigation and attention to ensure that the potential long-term risk of adverse events in this high-risk group is not underestimated.”

Limitations cited by both the doctors and the research team include a lack of long-term follow-up and the fact that many of the patients initially tested did not return at the six-month mark.

“Nearly one in three patients did not return for a follow-up visit, increasing the potential for bias regarding survivorship and disease severity,” the report said.

“Missing data may have biased estimates of improvements in quality of life and physical function.”

Professor Jason Kovacic is Director and CEO of the Victor Chang Cardiac Institute, Professor of Medicine at the University of New South Wales and Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia.

He told ABC the study was reassuring but long-term follow-up remained important.

“They were high-risk people and also had significant comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension,” he said.

“So it’s important to see that long-term follow-up over several years continues to show positive cardiac outcomes.

“Conducting similar studies in long COVID-19 patients is also an important area of ​​research.

“The infections we're seeing now tend to be much milder, so that's another thing that's reassuring.

“However, for people currently infected with COVID-19, the data from this study is less relevant because the virus is not as aggressive as it was back then.”

Dr Isuru Ranasinghe, senior cardiologist at Prince Charles Hospital and associate professor of cardiology at the University of Queensland, said the findings were in line with what clinicians were seeing.

“Myocarditis … can usually be detected with a blood test,” he says.

“Many viruses [this condition]This means that the body's antibodies, which normally attack the virus, [attack] Your heart muscles and immune system work hard while fighting the virus.

“This study documents inflammation with a scan that shows swelling very well, and is the best test for myocarditis.

“And then they followed up on that … and found that the vast majority of patients had very little progression.”

“That's very reassuring. If there's one population to keep in mind, it's people who don't have mild COVID-19. [or] I ate it at home [but] Patients who require hospitalization.

“This is a sicker population.”

Dr Ranasinghe said: A similar study was conducted among patients from 21 different hospitals in Australia.Testing for cardiac complications.

A study published in September 2021 found that the incidence of clinical cardiac complications among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 is low.

Complications were found to be “particularly rare” in people under 65 years of age.