New analysis shows COVID variant and severity of illness influence cardiac dysfunction, a key indicator of long COVID
June 20, 2023
Patients infected with beta and delta COVID-19 variants, and those who required hospital stays for COVID-19 infection, were more likely to experience heart issues associated with long COVID, according to a recent Houston Methodist study published in the European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging. Patients recovering from the omicron variant were least likely to have microvascular involvement.
The study also found that microvascular dysfunction started to be seen less often after nine months to one year following infection suggesting that this type of abnormality may be reversible.
The American Society for Nuclear Cardiology’s PET scan guidelines now recommend including blood flow assessment routinely.
