A pilot study: Exploring the influence of COVID-19 on cardiovascular physiology and retinal microcirculation

Adam Saloň; Ruslan Neshev; Kaja Teraž; Boštjan Šimunič; Manca Peskar; Uroš Marušič; Saša Pišot; Luka Šlosar; Mladen Gasparini; Rado Pišot; Patrick De Boever; Karin Schmid-Zalaudek; Bianca Steuber; Per Morten Fredriksen; Benedicta Ngwenchi Nkeh-Chungag; Harald Sourij; Omar Šerý; Nandu Goswami

doi:10.1016/j.mvr.2023.104588

A pilot study: Exploring the influence of COVID-19 on cardiovascular physiology and retinal microcirculation

Microvasc Res. 2023 Nov:150:104588. doi: 10.1016/j.mvr.2023.104588. Epub 2023 Jul 17.

Authors

Adam Saloň¹, Ruslan Neshev², Kaja Teraž³, Boštjan Šimunič⁴, Manca Peskar⁵, Uroš Marušič⁶, Saša Pišot⁴, Luka Šlosar⁶, Mladen Gasparini⁷, Rado Pišot⁴, Patrick De Boever⁸, Karin Schmid-Zalaudek², Bianca Steuber², Per Morten Fredriksen⁹, Benedicta Ngwenchi Nkeh-Chungag¹⁰, Harald Sourij¹¹, Omar Šerý¹², Nandu Goswami¹³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Physiology & Pathophysiology, Otto Loewi Research Center for Vascular Biology, Immunology, and Inflammation, Medical University of Graz, Austria; Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer, Norway.
² Division of Physiology & Pathophysiology, Otto Loewi Research Center for Vascular Biology, Immunology, and Inflammation, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
³ Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Kinesiology Research, Koper, Slovenia; Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁴ Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Kinesiology Research, Koper, Slovenia.
⁵ Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Kinesiology Research, Koper, Slovenia; Biological Psychology and Neuroergonomics, Department of Psychology and Ergonomics, Faculty V: Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁶ Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Kinesiology Research, Koper, Slovenia; Department of Health Sciences, Alma Mater Europaea - ECM, Maribor, Slovenia.
⁷ Department of General Surgery, General Hospital Izola, Izola, Slovenia.
⁸ Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Belgium.
⁹ Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer, Norway.
¹⁰ Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University PBX1, 5117 Mthatha, South Africa.
¹¹ Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Interdisciplinary Metabolic Medicine Trials Unit, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
¹² Laboratory of Neurobiology and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Laboratory of Neurobiology and Pathological Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
¹³ Division of Physiology & Pathophysiology, Otto Loewi Research Center for Vascular Biology, Immunology, and Inflammation, Medical University of Graz, Austria; College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: nandu.goswami@medunigraz.at.

PMID: 37468091
DOI: 10.1016/j.mvr.2023.104588

Abstract

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affects the cardiovascular system. The current study investigated changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and microcirculation in patients recovering from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

Methodology: Out of 43 initially contacted COVID-19 patients, 35 (30 males, 5 females; age: 60 ± 10 years; and body mass index (BMI): 31.8 ± 4.9) participated in this study. Participants were seen on two occasions after hospital discharge; the baseline measurements were collected, either on the day of hospital discharge if a negative PCR test was obtained, or on the 10th day after hospitalization if the PCR test was positive. The second measurements were done 60 days after hospitalization. The vascular measurements were performed using the VICORDER® device and a retinal blood vessel image analysis.

Results: A significant increase in systolic BP (SBP) (from 142 mmHg, SD: 15, to 150 mmHg, SD: 19, p = 0.041), reduction in HR (from 76 bpm, SD: 15, to 69 bpm, SD: 11, p = 0.001), and narrower central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) (from 240.94 μm, SD: 16.05, to 198.05 μm, SD: 17.36, p = 0.013) were found. Furthermore, the trends of increasing PWV (from 11 m/s, SD: 3, to 12 m/s, SD: 3, p = 0.095) and decreasing CRAE (from 138.87 μm, SD: 12.19, to 136.77 μm, SD: 13.19, p = 0.068) were recorded.

Conclusion: The present study investigated cardiovascular changes following COVID-19 infection at two-time points after hospital discharge (baseline measurements and 60 days post-hospitalization). Significant changes were found in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and microvasculature indicating that vascular adaptations may be ongoing even weeks after hospitalization from COVID-19 infection. Future studies could involve conducting additional interim assessments during the active infection and post-infection periods.

Keywords: Arterial stiffness; COVID-19; Circulation; Hemodynamics; Microcirculation; Pulse wave analysis; Retina.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Blood Pressure / physiology
COVID-19*
Female
Humans
Hypertension*
Male
Microcirculation
Middle Aged
Pilot Projects
Pulse Wave Analysis
SARS-CoV-2
Vascular Stiffness* / physiology