ABC Heart Fail Cardiomyop 2023; 3(3): e20230056
Post-COVID-19 Syndrome and the Autonomic Repercussions on Cardiovascular Variables
Giulia Yuni Davanço
, Matheus Figueiredo Torres
, Neif Murad
, Glaucia Luciano da Veiga
, Pedro Henrique Alves Reis
, Juliana de Vasconcellos Barbosa
, Beatriz da Costa Aguiar Alves
, Thaís Moura Gascón, Rodrigo Daminello Raimundo
, Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca
Abstract
Background:
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Several adverse effects on the cardiovascular system were observed in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 infection added another possible arrhythmia-causing agent due to increased cytokines. It is believed that patients who have had COVID-19 are more prone to develop cardiovascular disease after infection. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important marker of heart health, with lower values indicating a decrease in vagal heart rate control.
Objectives:
To analyze the autonomic modulation of the heart rate of patients with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome.
Methods:
Our study assessed 50 patients, of both sexes, with at least six months of recovery from COVID-19 and who were attended to in a cardiology outpatient clinic. The recording of RR intervals was performed with a portable heart rate monitor.
Results:
The values of the Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (RMSSD) (36.3±35.7 ms, p=0.0363) and high frequency (HF) (446.3±632.2 ms2, p=0.0394) were higher in the post-COVID group when compared to the control group. In addition, TINN values (228.0±120.9 ms, p=0.009), LF/HF (3.8±3.8 a.u., p=0.1020), SD2 (40.1±19.3 a.u., p=0.005), and SD1/SD2 (2.2±1.0 a.u., p<0.0001) were lower in the post-COVID group.
Conclusion:
The present study showed an increase in parameters related to parasympathetic autonomic activity and its modulation. In addition, lower heart rate variability was observed in patients during a post-recovery period of COVID-19 when compared to a group that had not contracted the disease.
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