Cardiac Function and Functional Capacity in Patients with Long COVID: a Comparison to Propensity-Matched Community Controls.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac impairment has been associated with acute COVID-19 since the earliest reports of the pandemic. However, its role in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC, or "long COVID") is undefined, and many existing observations about cardiovascular involvement in PASC are uncontrolled. OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of cardiac dysfunction in patients with Long COVID, and non-infected controls from the same community, and explore their association with functional capacity. METHODS: Echocardiography was used to assess cardiac structure and function, including the measurement of global longitudinal strain (GLS), in 190 participants with Long COVID. All underwent assessment of functional impairment by subjective (Duke Activity Status Index, DASI) and objective tests (6-minute walk test, 6MWT). The 190 participants from the Long COVID group were matched with those from 979 patients who underwent the same tests in the pre-COVID-19 era, using a propensity score. RESULTS: The 190 patients with Long COVID had similar age and risk factor profiles to those of their matched controls. LV dimensions and geometry, but not diastolic parameters, were significantly altered in the Long COVID group. The Long COVID group had subclinical systolic dysfunction (GLS 18.5±2.6 vs 19.3±2.7%, p=0.005), and more Long COVID patients had abnormal (<16%) GLS (13% vs 8%, p=0.035). The association of Long COVID with abnormal GLS (OR 1.49 [1.04, 2.45]) was independent of - and had a similar or greater effect size - than age and risk factors. There was no interaction of Long COVID with the association of risk factors with GLS. As expected, the Long COVID group had significant subjective (<85% predicted METS; 72% vs 5%, p<0.001) and objective functional impairment (29% vs 24%, p=0.026), but GLS was only weakly associated with both subjective (r=0.30, p=0.005) and objective (r=0.21, p=0.05) functional impairment. The presence of Long COVID was independently associated with subjective (OR=159.7 [95% CI: 61.6-414.2]), and objective functional impairment (OR=2.8 [95% CI: 1.5-5.2]). CONCLUSIONS: Impaired GLS and LV dimensions are the echocardiographic features that are over-represented in Long COVID, and this association is similar to, and independent of other risk factors. Impaired GLS is weakly associated with functional impairment.

A right ventricular bulge: A clinical dilemma in diagnosis.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited disease characterized by progressive fibrofatty tissue replacement of the myocardium. Asymptomatic individuals can often present for the first time with acute cardiac symptoms, such as syncope and ventricular arrhythmias or sudden cardiac death (SCD), which can occur in young and athletic populations. In the field of inherited cardiomyopathies, ARVC is one of the most challenging to diagnose due to its variable expressivity, incomplete penetrance, and lack of specific, unique diagnostic criteria. Without additional clinical findings or context, current imaging modalities are unable to definitively distinguish ARVC from other disease entities. Right ventricular (RV) structural changes can lead to prominent ARVC features. An important component of the 2010 revised task force criteria (TFC) is the assessment of RV wall motion contraction by echocardiography; however, this can be difficult to assess. This case report explores the diagnostic criteria used for ARVC and the role of RV wall motion contraction in the diagnosis.

Myocardial Fibrosis in Young and Veteran Athletes: Evidence from a Systematic Review of the Current Literature.

Background: Exercise is associated with several cardiac adaptations that can enhance one's cardiac output and allow one to sustain a higher level of oxygen demand for prolonged periods. However, adverse cardiac remodelling, such as myocardial fibrosis, has been identified in athletes engaging in long-term endurance exercise. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is considered the noninvasive gold standard for its detection and quantification. This review seeks to highlight factors that contribute to the development of myocardial fibrosis in athletes and provide insights into the assessment and interpretation of myocardial fibrosis in athletes. Methods: A literature search was performed using the PubMed/Medline database and Google Scholar for publications that assessed myocardial fibrosis in athletes using CMR. Results: A total of 21 studies involving 1642 endurance athletes were included in the analysis, and myocardial fibrosis was found in 378 of 1595 athletes. A higher prevalence was seen in athletes with cardiac remodelling compared to control subjects (23.7 vs. 3.3%, p < 0.001). Similarly, we found that young endurance athletes had a significantly higher prevalence than veteran athletes (27.7 vs. 19.9%, p < 0.001), while male and female athletes were similar (19.7 vs. 16.4%, p = 0.207). Major myocardial fibrosis (nonischaemic and ischaemic patterns) was predominately observed in veteran athletes, particularly in males and infrequently in young athletes. The right ventricular insertion point was the most common fibrosis location, occurring in the majority of female (96%) and young athletes (84%). Myocardial native T1 values were significantly lower in athletes at 1.5 T (p < 0.001) and 3 T (p = 0.004), although they had similar extracellular volume values to those of control groups. Conclusions: The development of myocardial fibrosis in athletes appears to be a multifactorial process, with genetics, hormones, the exercise dose, and an adverse cardiovascular risk profile playing key roles. Major myocardial fibrosis is not a benign finding and warrants a comprehensive evaluation and follow-up regarding potential cardiac disease.

Apicolateral bulge: A potential mimic of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in a professional athlete-A case report and literature review.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, with over 265 million active players and approximately 0.05% professional players worldwide. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has made preparticipation screening recommendations which involve electrocardiography and echocardiography being performed prior to international competition. The aim of preparticipation cardiovascular screening in young athletes is to detect asymptomatic individuals with cardiovascular disease at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). The incidence of SCD in young athletes (age≤ 35 years) is 0.6-3.6 in 100,000 persons/year, with most deaths due to cardiovascular causes. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is one of the leading causes of SCD in young athletes. It is a genetic disease characterized by progressive fibrofatty replacement of the myocardium with variable phenotypic expression. Exercise-induced cardiac remodeling in conjunction with extensive T-wave inversion raises concern for ARVC. This case report and literature review explores a potential mimic for ARVC, the role of cardiovascular screening in sport, and the use of a multimodality approach for risk stratification and management.

Associations between symptoms and functional capacity in patients after COVID-19 infection and community controls.

BACKGROUND: Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC or 'long COVID') reflect ongoing symptoms, but these are non-specific and common in the wider community. Few reports of PASC have been compared with a control group. AIMS: To compare symptoms and objective impairment of functional capacity in patients with previous COVID-19 infection with uninfected community controls. METHODS: In this community-based, cross-sectional study of functional capacity, 562 patients from Western Melbourne who had recovered from COVID-19 infections in 2021 and 2022 were compared with controls from the same community and tested for functional capacity pre-COVID-19. Functional impairment (<85% of the predicted response) was assessed using the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) test. A subgroup underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing before and after exercise training. RESULTS: Of 562 respondents (age 54 ± 12 years, 69% women), 389 were symptomatic. Functional impairment (<85% predicted metabolic equivalent of tasks) was documented by DASI in 149 participants (27%), and abnormal 6MWD (<85% predicted) was observed in 14% of the symptomatic participants. Despite fewer risk factors and younger age, patients with COVID-19 had lower functional capacity by 6MWD (P < 0.001) and more depression (P < 0.001) than controls. In a pilot group of seven participants (age 58 ± 12 years, two women, VO2 18.9 ± 5.7 mL/kg/min), repeat testing after exercise training showed a 20% increase in peak workload. CONCLUSIONS: Although most participants (69%) had symptoms consistent with long COVID, significant subjective functional impairment was documented in 27% and objective functional impairment in 14%. An exercise training programme might be beneficial for appropriately selected patients.

Ruptured caseous calcification of the mitral annulus.

Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is considered a chronic and degenerative process involving the fibrous annulus of the mitral valve. The prevalence of MAC has been reported between 8% and 15%. It significantly increases with age, often seen in females, individuals with hypertension, chronic kidney disease and those with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Caseous calcification of the mitral annulus (CCMA) (also known as caseoma) is a rare variant of MAC and should be considered in the differential diagnosis with other cardiac masses of the mitral valve. An 85-year-old female presented for a transthoracic echocardiogram with a history of hypertension and a systolic murmur. The echocardiogram demonstrated a possible rare variant of MAC, with independent mobile echodensities identified. Further testing using transoesophageal echocardiography was used to confirm diagnosis and ensure appropriate clinical management was arranged. This case demonstrated CCMA, a benign condition that can be mistaken for cardiac tumours, thrombus, vegetations or abscesses. A low prevalence has been reported between 0.06% and 0.07% and 0.6% of patients with MAC using echocardiography. Echocardiography can provide the initial diagnosis for identification and characterisation of MAC. CCMA appears as a calcified mass with an echolucent, liquid-like inner part, located on the posterior mitral valve annulus. Acoustic shadowing is usually absent. Multi-modality imaging can lead to an accurate diagnosis of CCMA without unnecessary interventions. Transoesophageal echocardiography provides further information on the site and composition of the internal material. Computed tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also be used, to confirm the diagnosis and to exclude other differential diagnoses.