Cardiac status and atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk of convalescents after COVID-19 in Poland.

Introduction: The COVID‑19 pandemic brought about cardiac complications and unfavorable lifestyle changes that may increase cardiovascular risk.

Objectives: Our aim was to establish the cardiac status of convalescents several months after COVID‑19, and the 10‑year risk of fatal and nonfatal atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events, according to the Systemic Coronary Risk Estimation‑2 (SCORE2) and SCORE2‑Older Persons (OP) algorithms.

Patients And Methods: The study included 553 convalescents (mean [SD] age, 63.5 [10.26] years; 316 [57.1%] women), hospitalized at the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department, Ustroń Health Resort, Poland. The history of cardiac complications, exercise capacity, blood pressure control, echocardiography, 24‑hour Holter electrocardiogram recording, and laboratory workup were assessed.

Results: A total of 20.7% of men and 17.7% of women (P = 0.38) had cardiac complications during acute COVID‑19, most often heart failure (10.7%), pulmonary embolism (3.7%), and supraventricular arrhythmias (6.3%). On average, 4 months after COVID‑19 diagnosis, echocardiographic abnormalities were found in 16.7% of men and 9.7% of women (P = 0.1), and benign arrhythmias in 45.3% of men and 44% of women (P = 0.84). Preexisting ASCVD was reported in 21.8% of men and 6.1% of women (P <0.001). The median risk assessed by SCORE2/SCORE2‑OP algorithms in apparently healthy people was high for the participants aged 40-49 years (3%; interquartile range [IQR], 2%-4%) and 50-69 years (8%; IQR, 5.3%-10%), and very high (20%; IQR, 15.5%-37%) for the participants aged 70 years and above. The SCORE2 risk in men aged over 70 years was higher than in women (P <0.001).

Conclusions: Data collected in the convalescents indicate a relatively small number of cardiac problems that could be associated with a history of COVID‑19 in either sex, and a high risk of ASCVD, especially in men.