Abstract
Background
Many data were published about Long-Covid prevalence, very few about the findings of new cardiac alterations (NCA) in COVID-19-recovered people. ARCA-post-COVID is an observational study designed to investigate the prevalence of NCA in patients recovered from Covid-19.
Methods: from June 2020 to December 2022, we enrolled 502 patients with a positive nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV2 and a subsequent negative one. We performed anamnesis, lab-test, and routine cardiological tests (ECG, Holter, TTE).
Results
The median age was 56 years (IQR 44–67); women were 52.19%; in the acute phase 24.1% of patients were treated in a medical department, 7.2% in the ICU and the others at home. At the visit, 389 patients (77.49%) complained of a broad range of symptoms. We reported patients’ characteristics according to the course of the disease and the persistence of symptoms. NCA were found in 138 patients (27.49%): among them 60 cases (11.95%) of pericardial effusion. Patients with NCA were older (median 60y, IQR: 47–72, vs median 56y, IQR 42–65), had a higher prevalence of smokers (27% vs 17%; p0.014), CAD (11% vs 6%; p0.048) and stroke/TIA (3.6% vs 0.3%; p0.002) and a lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (18% vs 30%; p0.007). The prevalence of NCA seems constant with different subtypes of the virus.
Conclusion
the prevalence of NCA in patients who recovered from COVID-19 is high and constant since the beginning of the pandemic; it is predictable based on hospitalization and long-lasting symptoms (9.64%–42.52%). Patients with one of these characteristics should undergo cardiological screening.
Curtesy: Valeria Antoncecchi a1, Ettore Antoncecchi b1, Enrico Orsini c1, Giuseppe D’Ascenzo d1, Ugo Oliviero e1, Ketty Savino f1, Angelo Aloisio g2, Laura Casalino h2, Adele Lillo i2, Emilia Chiuini j2, Giosuè Santoro k2, Vincenzo Manfrè l2, Valeria Rizzo m2, Giovanni Battista Zito n2
