Cardiac arrhythmias 3 months after hospitalization for COVID-19

Background: The long-term frequencies of cardiac arrhythmias in hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have not been thoroughly investigated. Purpose: To describe the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias, 3-4 months after hospitalization for COVID-19. Methods and results: Participants with COVID-19 discharged from five large Norwegian hospitals were invited to participate in a prospective cohort study. We examined 201 participants (44% females, mean age 58.5 years) with 24-hour electrocardiogram 3-4 months after discharge. Body mass index (BMI) was 28.3±4.5 kg/m2 (mean ± SD), and obesity (BMI >30) was found in 70 participants (34%). Clinically significant arrhythmias were defined as;ventricular tachycardia (non-sustained or sustained), premature ventricular contractions (PVC) exceeding 200/24 h, or coupled PVC, atrial fibrillation/flutter, second-degree atrioventricular block (AV-block) type 2, complete AV-block, sinoatrial (SA) block exceeding 3 s, premature AVnodal beats in bigeminy, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) exceeding 30 s, and sinus bradycardia with less than 30 beats/min. High-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) was measured at the 3-month follow-up. Results: Cardiac arrhythmias were found in 27% (n=54) of the participants. Ventricular premature contractions and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia were the most common arrhythmias, found in 22% (n=44) of the participants. Premature ventricular contractions were the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia. More than 200 PVCs per day were observed in 37 participants (18%) with a mean of 1300 PVC/day, and in 35 (95%) of these participants, the PVCs were polymorphic. Among 10 patients experiencing NSVT, 5 participants had previous CVD, including coronary heart disease (n=1), 1 atrial fibrillation, 2 venous thromboembolism, 4 heart failure. Atrial fibrillation was found in seven patients (3%), none of them of new-onset. SA block >3 seconds was only observed in one patient, and no incidence of high degree AV block was discovered. Pre-existing cardiovascular disease or hypertension (CVDH) were reported in 40% (n=81) of the participants. The CVDH group had an increased amount of arrhythmia compared to the group free of CVDH (p=0.04). High PVCs showed a fair correlation with hs-cTnT levels at 3 months (ρ=0.21 p=0.048). Conclusions: Three months following hospital discharge with COVID-19, cardiac arrhythmia was found in every fourth participant and was associated with a higher concentration of hs-cTnT at 3 months. The clinical implications of persistent ventricular arrhythmia following COVID-19 is not clear, but ventricular ectopy has been linked to increased risk of cardiac disease, including cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death. (Figure Presented).

Dyspnoea, lung function and CT findings 3 months after hospital admission for COVID-19

The long-term pulmonary outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are unknown. We aimed to describe self-reported dyspnoea, quality of life, pulmonary function and chest computed tomography (CT) findings 3 months following hospital admission for COVID-19. We hypothesised outcomes to be inferior for patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), compared with non-ICU patients.Discharged COVID-19 patients from six Norwegian hospitals were enrolled consecutively in a prospective cohort study. The current report describes the first 103 participants, including 15 ICU patients. The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale, the EuroQol Group's questionnaire, spirometry, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (D _LCO), 6-min walk test, pulse oximetry and low-dose CT scan were performed 3 months after discharge.mMRC score was >0 in 54% and >1 in 19% of the participants. The median (25th-75th percentile) forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in 1 s were 94% (76-121%) and 92% (84-106%) of predicted, respectively. D _LCO was below the lower limit of normal in 24% of participants. Ground-glass opacities (GGO) with >10% distribution in at least one of four pulmonary zones were present in 25% of participants, while 19% had parenchymal bands on chest CT. ICU survivors had similar dyspnoea scores and pulmonary function as non-ICU patients, but higher prevalence of GGO (adjusted OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.1-15.6) and lower performance in usual activities.3 months after admission for COVID-19, one-fourth of the participants had chest CT opacities and reduced diffusing capacity. Admission to ICU was associated with pathological CT findings. This was not reflected in increased dyspnoea or impaired lung function.