Cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 continue to be investigated. Here, a group of HKUMed experts reported a case series of 16 recovered patients with COVID-19 who underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. These patients were assessed for evidence of myocardial involvement or ongoing myocarditis. Study results were published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
On admission:
- Electrocardiogram changes were detected in 14/16 (88%) of patients.
- Raised troponin levels were found in 7/16 (44%) of patients
Post-discharge ≥2 weeks:
- Symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath and mild chest pain were reported in 5/16 patients (31%); the other 11 patients (69%) were asymptomatic.
- Non-ischemic late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), which indicates scarring/fibrosis in the heart, was found in 3/16 patients (19%). Another patient with LGE showed no myocarditic changes. This patient had a history of heart attack and stents.
- Most of the patients (9/16) showed abnormal CMR findings, 6 of whom had inflammatory biomarkers detected in the blood.
- There was imaging and serologic evidence of myocardial inflammation in 6/16 patients (38%).
This study demonstrated that patients who had recovered from COVID-19 could continue to show evidence of myocardial inflammation that could be detected using CMR.
To read the original article published in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, click here.