Comparison of cardiac function between acute and recovery phases in four moderate COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Cardiovascular complications such as myocardial damage and thromboembolism have been problems encountered in COVID-19. However, there have been no reports on the evaluation of cardiac function in the acute and recovery phases in Japan. In this study, we evaluated the cardiac function of four patients admitted to our hospital with moderate COVID-19 in the acute and recovery phases. In addition, we compared the levels of D-dimer, hsTnT, hsTnI, and IL-6 in their blood samples. All four patients had no history of cardiovascular or respiratory disease, and LVEF was within the normal range in all four patients. However, in the comparison of cardiac function between the acute and recovery phases, all four patients showed a decrease in LVGLS, RVFAC, and TAPSE. The D-dimer level was slightly elevated in two patients and one patient remained positive for the D-dimer. The hsTnT level was within the reference level in all four patients, but trace amounts were detected in three patients, and the IL-6 level was abnormally high in two patients. In conclusion, there was no lung inflammation or respiratory distress, and LVEF was maintained within the normal range in the recovery phase, although both left and right ventricular functions were decreased. Those results suggest that regular follow-up of left and right ventricular functions may be necessary even after the COVID-19 recovery phase.