Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia and Cardiac Arrest: A Presentation of Pulmonary Embolism With Infarction as a Sequela of Long COVID Syndrome.

ABSTRACT

With the emergence of diverse post-COVID sequelae, there have been reports of thromboembolic events such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism. These events have been reported after severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections mostly requiring intensive care unit admissions. The findings of acute pulmonary embolism on electrocardiography are commonly sinus tachycardia and S1Q3T3. However, the presentation of pulmonary embolism with arrhythmias is rare. We report a case of a young 31-year-old female who had a history of COVID-19 with a chest computed tomography (CT) severity score of 5/25 five weeks back and presented with acute onset chest pain, breathlessness for one hour followed by collapse. She was intubated in the emergency department and managed with antiarrhythmic drugs however she went into sudden cardiorespiratory arrest and was revived with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The patient was finally diagnosed as a case of pulmonary embolism leading to pulmonary infarction presenting as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia and cardiac arrest as a result of long COVID syndrome. This emphasizes the importance of routine follow-up and strict vigilance even in young patients with mild COVID-19 as it might result in serious life-threatening complications which otherwise seem to be unexpected.