ABSTRACT
Introduction: The prevalence of cardiological sequelae in patients recovered from COVID-19 varies in different reports. This may be due to the population diversity studied or to the complementary methods on which the diagnosis was based. Objective: 1) To determine the prevalence of “de novo” cardiological alterations (DN) in the population recovered from COVID-19 using a basic cardiological evaluation sequence. 2) To evaluate the contribution of the clinical history (CH) in the detection of DN. Methods: Patients (pts) with COVID-19, PCR (+) were included. The pts attended an ambulatory consultation office at least 30 days after discharge from COVID-19. The evaluation was performed in a stepwise manner: first Interview: CH, physical examination (PE), and EKG;second Interview: routine laboratory test, C-reactive protein, echocardiogram and cardiac biomarkers. Other complementary studies (Holter, RMI, CCG) were requested according to previous findings. The diagnosis of DN (by PE, EKG or echocardiogram, alone or with the addition of other methods) was defined as the appearance of cardiological alterations in patients with no pre-existing known heart disease or the progression of a known cardiac disease. The prevalence of DN is described. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of CH for DN are reported. Results: A total of 246 pts were evaluated with the first interview (age: 52±13 years;women: 47.8%;caucasian: 60.6%;overweight: 79%;some pathological history: 71.5%;previous heart disease: 15.4%;hospitalization during the acute phase of COVID: 78.8%;mild Covid: 37%, moderate: 39%, severe: 24%;time between discharge and post-COVID evaluation: 68±42 days). DN were detected in 62 pts: rhythm disturbances: 41 (sinus tachycardia: 23 (18 isolated), sinus bradycardia: 3, supraventricular arrhythmia: 6, ventricular arrhythmia: 14);conduction disturbance: 10, ventricular dysfunction: 20 (12 de novo, 8 progression). Specific diagnoses: myocarditis: 6, coronary artery disease: 5, acute mitral insufficiency: 1. In 16 pts (6.5%) DN had clinical relevance. Six of them (2.4%) required hospitalization. In previously healthy pts with mild COVID, only rhythm disorders were detected in 3 pts. Se, Sp and PV of the CH is shown in Table 1. Eighteen Holter monitoring tests (5 +), 9 MRIs (5 +), 4 CCGs (2 +) were performed. Conclusions: 1) Using a basic cardiac diagnostic sequence, at least 30 days after discharge, a quarter of post-COVID patients had “de novo” cardiological findings. However, a small percentage became clinically relevant. The causal relationship of DN with COVID-19 cannot be unequivocally asserted. Previously healthy patients have low prevalence of cardiac findings detected with a basic diagnostic sequence.2) The data obtained from the clinical history have a low positive predictive value. Funding Acknowledgement: Type of funding sources: None.Table 1. Values of selected clinical history data
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to measures of social isolation, labor restrictions, a strong information campaign and the suspension of scheduled medical activities. The aim of this study was to describe the impact of these measures on the number of hospitalizations in Cardiovascular Intensive Care Units, with the hypothesis that the social behavior generated by this emergency promotes a decreased demand for medical care, even when severe cardiovascular disease is involved. We compared the number of admissions in March-April 2010-2019 versus March-April 2020, based on a prospective study including six institutions (three public and three private) that use Epi-CardioR as a multicenter registry of cardiovascular care unit discharge. Altogether, we included 6839 patients discharged during the 11-year study period (2010-2020). The average number of patient admissions on March-April 2010-19 was 595 (CI 95%: 507-683) and decreased to 348 in 2020 fall of 46.8%, p.