AUTHOR=Gao Yi-Ping , Zhou Wei , Huang Pei-Na , Liu Hong-Yun , Bi Xiao-Jun , Zhu Ying , Sun Jie , Tang Qiao-Ying , Li Li , Zhang Jun , Sun Rui-Ying , Cheng Xue-Qing , Liu Ya-Ni , Deng You-Bin 

TITLE=Normalized Cardiac Structure and Function in COVID-19 Survivors Late After Recovery

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.756790

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2021.756790

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can result in myocardial injury in acute phase. However, information on the late cardiac consequences of COVID-19 is limited.
Methods: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study to investigate late cardiac consequences of COVID-19. Standard echocardiography and myocardial strain assessment were performed and cardiac blood biomarkers were tested in 86 COVID-19 survivors 327 days (IQR 318-337 days) after recovery. Comparisons were made with 28 age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls and 30 risk factor–matched patients. 
Results: There were no significant differences in all echocardiographic structural and functional parameters, including LV global longitudinal strain, RV longitudinal strain, LV end-diastolic volume, RV dimension, and ratio of peak early velocity in mitral inflow to peak early diastolic velocity in septal mitral annulus (E/e’) among COVID-19 survivors, healthy controls and risk factor-matched controls. Even 26 patients with myocardial injury at admission did not have any echocardiographic structural and functional abnormalities. There were no significant differences among three groups with respect to serum concentrations of NT-proBNP and cTnI.
Conclusion: This study shows that COVID-19 survivors, including those with myocardial injury at admission and those with severe and critical type of illness do not have any echocardiographic evidence of cardiac structural and functional abnormalities 327 days after diagnosis.