ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.

Sec. Clinical and Translational Cardiovascular Medicine

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1584732

Two-Year Follow-Up of Patients with Myocardial Injury During Acute COVID-19: Insights from the CARDIO COVID 20-21 Registry

Provisionally accepted
Juan  Pablo Arango-IbanezJuan Pablo Arango-Ibanez1,2Brayan  Daniel Cordoba-MeloBrayan Daniel Cordoba-Melo1,2Mario  Miguel Barbosa RengifoMario Miguel Barbosa Rengifo1,2Jesika  Daniela Tobar-ArteagaJesika Daniela Tobar-Arteaga2Maria  Lucia Castro-TrujilloMaria Lucia Castro-Trujillo2Cesar  José HerreraCesar José Herrera3Miguel  Ángel Quintana Da SilvaMiguel Ángel Quintana Da Silva4Andrés  Felipe Buitrago SandovalAndrés Felipe Buitrago Sandoval5María  Lorena Coronel GilioMaría Lorena Coronel Gilio6Freddy  Pow Chon LongFreddy Pow Chon Long7Liliana  Cárdenas AldazLiliana Cárdenas Aldaz8Andrea  ValenciaAndrea Valencia1Carlos  Enrique Vesga-ReyesCarlos Enrique Vesga-Reyes1,2Juan  Esteban Gómez-MesaJuan Esteban Gómez-Mesa1,2*
  • 1Centro de Investigaciones Clínicas, Fundación Valle del Lili, Cali, Cauca, Colombia
  • 2Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Icesi, Cali, Cauca, Colombia
  • 3Departamento de Cardiología, Centros de Diagnóstico y Medicina Avanzada y de Conferencias Médicas y Telemedicina (CEDIMAT), Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
  • 4Departamento de Cardiología, Instituto Cardiovascular Sanatorio MIGONE, Asunción, Paraguay
  • 5Departamento de Cardiología, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia
  • 6Departamento de Cardiología, Instituto de Cardiología J. F. Cabral, Corrientes, Argentina
  • 7Departamento de Cardiología, Hospital Luis Vernaza, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador
  • 8Departamento de Cardiología, Hospital de Especialidades Eugenio Espejo, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Introduction: COVID-19 can cause Myocardial Injury (MI) during acute illness, which has been strongly associated with worse outcomes during hospitalization, however, more research is required on its effects on long-term outcomes, especially in underexplored regions in the literature such as Latin America.Methodology: This multicenter prospective cohort study follows up with patients with previous severe COVID-19 at a 2-year follow-up encounter. Comprehensive assessments were conducted includ ing demographic data, clinical variables, psychiatric evaluations, and echocardiographic studies. Patients were stratified by the presence or absence of MI during their acute COVID-19 hospitalizatio n.Statistical analyses included logistic regression and univariate comparisons.Results: Of the 210 patients included, 53 (25%) had MI. Patients with MI were older, had a higher prevalence of comorbidities (e.g., hypertension, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation), and were more likely to require intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, and vasopressor or inotropic support during acute COVID-19. Regarding long-term cardiovascular outcomes, no significant differences were observed in de novo cardiovascular disease, venous thromboembolism, or acute cardiovascular events. Patients with MI had greater odds of cardiopulmonary hospitalizatio ns during follow-up (aOR 3.67, 95% CI 1.07-13.07, p=0.037) after adjusting for age and sex.Patients with prior MI during COVID-19 had a higher prevalence of comorbidities, poorer functional status, and increased odds of cardiopulmonary hospitalizations over a two-year follow-up evaluation compared to those without MI. Although prior studies suggest an association between MI and worse long-term outcomes, the evidence remains inconsistent. These findings emphasize the need for ongoing research to clarify how MI contributes to worsened long-term outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19, MI, complications, prognosis, Survivors

Received: 27 Feb 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Arango-Ibanez, Cordoba-Melo, Barbosa Rengifo, Tobar-Arteaga, Castro-Trujillo, Herrera, Quintana Da Silva, Buitrago Sandoval, Coronel Gilio, Chon Long, Cárdenas Aldaz, Valencia, Vesga-Reyes and Gómez-Mesa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Juan Esteban Gómez-Mesa, Centro de Investigaciones Clínicas, Fundación Valle del Lili, Cali, Cauca, Colombia

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