High prevalence of cardiac post-acute sequelae in patients recovered from Covid-19. Results from the ARCA post-COVID study

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcrp.2024.200267
• Publication Date: 2024-04-05T23:37:06Z
• Authors: Valeria Antoncecchi; Ettore Antoncecchi; Enrico Orsini; Giuseppe D'Ascenzo; Ugo Oliviero; Ketty Savino; Angelo Aloisio; Laura Casalino; Adele Lillo; Emilia Chiuini; Giosuè Santoro; Vincenzo Manfrè; Valeria Rizzo; Giovanni Battista...
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; SARS-CoV-2; RC666-701; Post-acute sequelae; Pericarditis; Diseases of the circulatory (Cardiovascular) system; Covid-19; Cardiovascular disease; Long Covid; Research Paper

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).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.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.