Subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients recovered from COVID-19

doi: 10.1111/echo.15215 Myocardial injury (MI) can be detected during the acute phase of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and is associated with a dismal prognosis. Recent imaging studies described the persistence of cardiac abnormalities after the recovery. The aim of the study was to investigate the spectrum of cardiac abnormalities at mid-term follow-up in patients recovered from COVID-19 using clinical assessment, laboratory tests and imaging evaluation with comprehensive echocardiography.1 The study included 123 patients divided into two groups according to the presence of MI during hospitalization. At 3 months follow-up patients with prior MI showed lower values of global longitudinale strain, higher frequency of8 impaired diastolic funcion and higher values of pulmonary pressure. Echocardiography with speckle-tracking analysis may be a usefull tool to identify subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients recovered from COVID-19.doi: 10.1111/echo.15215 心肌损伤（Myocardial injury, MI）可在新型冠状病毒肺炎（Coronavirus disease 19, COVID-19）急性期被检出，且与不良预后相关。近期影像学研究表明，患者康复后仍可持续存在心脏异常。本研究旨在通过临床评估、实验室检测及全面超声心动图影像学评估，探究新型冠状病毒肺炎康复患者中期随访阶段的心脏异常谱[1]。本研究共纳入123例患者，根据其住院期间是否存在心肌损伤分为两组。随访3个月时，既往存在心肌损伤的患者整体纵向应变（global longitudinal strain）数值更低，舒张功能受损发生率更高，肺动脉压数值亦更高。联合斑点追踪分析（speckle-tracking analysis）的超声心动图可作为识别新型冠状病毒肺炎康复患者亚临床心肌功能障碍的有效工具。