| Description: |
OBJECTIVE: The Coronavirus dis-ease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is associated with autonomic dysfunction. Data on the long-term re-lationship between COVID-19 infection, heart rate recovery (HRR), and exaggerated blood pressure response to exercise (EBPR) are very limited. In our study, we aimed at investigating the long-term association between COVID-19, HRR, EBPR, metabolic, and echocardiographic parameters.PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study includ-ed 65 patients in the study group (33 female, median age 46) and 57 in the control group (30 female, 39 median age) between 1 April 2020 and 1 January 2021. Office blood pressure mea-surement, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, treadmill test, echocardiography, and metabolic parameters were evaluated.RESULTS: The frequency of blunted HRR (25 subjects, 38.5%, p < 0.001) and EBPR (7 subjects, 10.8%, p = 0.014) were significantly higher in study group. The study group had higher levels of white blood cell (p = 0.002), neutrophil, c -reac-tive protein, and uric acid (p < 0.001). Diameters of left atrium, aortic root, and ascending aorta were significantly higher in study group (p < 0.05). Age adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis showed that neutrophil levels (odds ra-tio (OR), 9.21; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.52-55.75, p = 0.016), glomerular filtration rate (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.13-1.59, p = 0.001), basal heart rate (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.17-2.12, p = 0.003), and mean heart rate (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.03-1.45, p = 0.0021) were independently associated with COVID-19 infection.CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of blunted HRR and EBPR, and uric acid levels were significant-ly higher in the study group compared to the control group, suggesting autonomic dysfunc-tion as the possible sequelae of the COVID-19 infection and increased risk of cardiovascular events in the future. |