What effects do COVID symptomology and time since diagnosis have on cardiac autonomic function? Listen as Guest Editor Dr. Tiago Peçanha (Manchester Metropolitan University) interviews first author Dr. Rachel Skow (The University of Texas at Arlington) and expert Dr. Chris Minson (University of Oregon) about the research by Skow et al, aimed at better understanding the mechanisms underlying increased cardiovascular risk associated with COVID infection. Skow and co-authors set out to study the cardiovascular health of young adults diagnosed during the early variants of COVID-19 compared to those who had never had COVID. The authors measured resting cardiac baroreflex sensitivity and heart rate variability in order to determine whether having COVID impacted these measures of cardiac autonomic function. Their results were very encouraging: Skow et al. did not show an impact of COVID-19 on cardiac baroreflex sensitivity nor heart rate variability. The authors also studied the impact of symptomology by stratifying their study participants with COVID into different groups – comparing those with persistent symptoms at the time of their assessment to those who did not have persistent symptoms. The authors found no difference between these groups on markers of cardiac autonomic function. However, when Skow and co-authors analyzed their COVID participant group according to date of diagnosis, the authors found better cardiac autonomic function in participants who were studied after a longer time since diagnosis had elapsed, indicating a potential transient effect on cardiac autonomic function in these otherwise healthy young adults. Listen as we discuss the need to study more subjects overall, particularly more diverse patient populations especially in terms of age and co-morbidities, in order to better understand the time course of cardiovascular and autonomic dysregulation during and after COVID.

Rachel J. Skow, Nicole A. Garza, Damsara Nandadeva, Brandi Y. Stephens, Alexis N. Wright, Ann-Katrin Grotle, Benjamin E. Young and Paul J. Fadel Impact of COVID-19 on cardiac autonomic function in healthy young adults: potential role of symptomatology and time since diagnosis Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published November 21, 2022. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00520.2022