Short and Long-Term Cardiovascular Sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Narrative Review Focusing on Athletes

Abstract

Cardiovascular (CV) involvement after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection was found to be frequent among the general population, especially in the pre-vaccination era, and particularly for hospitalized patients or those who experienced a more severe course of the disease. The spectrum of CV disease varies; however, acute myocarditis is particularly fearsome for the athletic population due to the possible associated risk of malignant arrhythmias during training. Alarming percentages of CV injuries, even in young and healthy athletes with a benign course of the disease, arose from a few initial studies limited to case series. Subsequent single-center studies and larger observational registries reported a lower prevalence of SARS-CoV2 CV involvement in athletes. Studies showing the occurrence of CV adverse events during follow-up periods are now available. The objective of our narrative review is to provide an updated summary of the literature on CV involvement after coronavirus disease 2019, both in the early post-infection period and over a longer period of time, with a focus on athletic populations.

Frontal QRS-T Angle in COVID-19 Patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction

“…Prolonged QTc and QTd due to ventricular repolarization abnormalities are risk factors that can enhance the likelihood of malignant arrhythmia. 32 In addition to these characteristics, we demonstrated that an increased frontal QRS-T angle could be an independent measure of disease severity. In our study, the difference in ECG (QTc, frontal QRS-T angle) between patients in the intensive care unit and those receiving the COVID-19 service suggests that the virus may impact ventricular depolarization and ventricular repolarization.…”