Abnormal right ventricular echocardiographic findings in recovered patients associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome in COVID-19.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) echocardiographic changes such as dilation or systolic dysfunction, and pulmonary arterial hypertension were observed in patients with COVID-19. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of RV echocardiographic changes in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and to verify the association between severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and echocardiographic findings.

Methods: Patients who had recovered from COVID-19 undergoing outpatient follow-up underwent transthoracic echocardiography, and based on the findings, were divided into two groups: normal and abnormal. It was then verified whether there is an association between SARS and RV echocardiographic abnormalities in recovered patients.

Results: The study included 61 patients, with a mean age of 54.2 ± 12.0 years, 57.4% had presented with SARS. The mean period of time between COVID-19 and the echocardiographic examination was 11.9 ± 7.0 months. Patients presented normal left ventricular systolic function. The frequency of RV echocardiographic changes in patients who had recovered from COVID-19 was 44.3%. RV systolic dysfunction was identified in 31.1%, followed by ventricular dilation in 14.7% and pulmonary hypertension in 9.8%. An association was observed between SARS and RV echocardiographic changes in recovered patients during outpatient follow-up (OR: 4.96; 95% CI: 1.37-17.9; p = 0.015). An association was also demonstrated between SARS and RV dilation (p = 0.007) and between SARS and systolic dysfunction (p = 0.028).

Conclusion: SARS is a risk factor for abnormal RV echocardiographic findings in patients recovered from COVID-19.