Monthly transthoracic echocardiography in young adults for 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 infection

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can elicit acute and long-term effects on the myocardium among survivors, yet effects among otherwise healthy young adults remains unclear. Young adults with mild symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 (8M/8F, age: 21 +/- 1 years, BMI: 23.5 +/- 3.1 kg center dot m(-2)) underwent monthly transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and testing of circulating cardiac troponin-I for months 1-6 (M1-M6) following a positive polymerase chain reaction test to better understand the acute effects and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 on cardiac structure and function. Left heart structure and ejection fraction were unaltered from M1-M6 (p > 0.05). While most parameters of septal and lateral wall velocities, mitral and tricuspid valve, and pulmonary vein (PV) were unaltered from M1-M6 (p > 0.05), lateral wall s ' wave velocity increased (M1: 0.113 +/- 0.019 m center dot s(-1), M6: 0.135 +/- 0.022 m center dot s(-1), p = 0.013); PV S wave velocity increased (M1: 0.596 +/- 0.099 m center dot s(-1), M6: 0.824 +/- 0.118 m center dot s(-1), p < 0.001); the difference between PV A wave and mitral valve (MV) A wave durations decreased (M1: 39.139 +/- 43.715 ms, M6: 18.037 +/- 7.227 ms, p = 0.002); the ratio of PV A duration to MV A duration increased (M1: 0.844 +/- 0.205, M6: 1.013 +/- 0.132, p = 0.013); and cardiac troponin-I levels decreased (M1: 0.38 +/- 0.20 ng center dot ml(-1), M3: 0.28 +/- 0.34 ng center dot ml(-1), M6: 0.29 +/- 0.16 ng center dot ml(-1); p = 0.002) over time. While young adults with mild symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 lacked changes to cardiac structure, the subclinical improvements to cardiac function and reduced inflammatory marker of cardiac troponin-I over 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 infection provide physiologic guidance to post-acute sequelae and recovery from SARS-CoV-2 and its variants using conventional TTE.