Covid-19 linked to impaired heart function, study finds

Covid-19 is associated with impaired function of the right side of the heart, new research on intensive care patients has found.

Led by experts from NHS Golden Jubilee, the Covid-RV study was carried out in 10 intensive care units in Scotland.

It assessed the impact the virus had on 121 critically ill patients who required treatment on ventilators.

About one in three patients showed abnormalities in the side of the heart that pumps blood to the lungs.

Nearly half (47%) of ventilated patients in the study died because of Covid-19, a figure comparable to national and international death rates.

The research, conducted at the height of the pandemic from September 2020 to March 2021 before the full impact of the vaccine programme kicked in, sought to help improve future care and outcomes for those most at risk from the virus.

Dr Philip McCall, lead author of the study and consultant in cardiothoracic anaesthesia and intensive care at NHS Golden Jubilee, said a combination of factors "create the perfect storm for Covid-19 to damage the right side of your heart", which can ultimately cause death.

"If you're pumping blood to the lungs and the lungs become very sick, you have an additional problem because the lungs are not willing to receive blood," he explained.

"This is a very difficult condition to spot, unless you are specifically looking for it. That is why the results of this study are so important.

"We now know that Covid-19 is a problem associated with not just ventilation, but can affect the heart."

Traditionally, such studies would take at least a year just to plan, but because of the pandemic the research was carried out in an accelerated timeframe and completed in a little under seven months.

Experts at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank said the findings could play a vital role in not only saving the lives of Covid-19 patients, but for the care of potentially fatal heart and lung issues generally.

Dr Ben Shelley, chief investigator of the study and an intensive care consultant at the hospital, said the study - published in the journal Anaesthesia - revealed there was "no doubt Covid-19 affects the heart" and had a major impact on outcomes for the patient.

He said new care plans and treatments could be put in place to help combat the effects, such as ultrasound scans being used differently to focus on areas at risk.

"If we are able to see these warning signs early enough, clinicians can explore the causes of any complications and start new treatments as soon as possible, potentially improving outcomes for the sickest patients with Covid-19," he added.

"This kind of knowledge is invaluable, not only in combatting any future waves of Covid-19, but in planning for future pandemics to allow people to be treated more effectively."

Meanwhile, a different study led by the University of Glasgow found one in eight people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 between May 2020 and March 2021 were later diagnosed with myocarditis, or heart inflammation.

The research, carried out in collaboration with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and published in Nature Medicine, followed 159 patients for one year after they were hospitalised with the virus.

Until now it had been thought that previous underlying health conditions may have been linked to the severity of post-Covid long-term effects.

But Professor Colin Berry, a cardiology professor at the University of Glasgow, said the study suggested the severity of the infection itself was most closely correlated to the nature of a patient's long Covid symptoms, rather than pre-existing health problems.

"We found that previously healthy patients, without any underlying health conditions, were suffering with severe health outcomes, including myocarditis, post hospitalisation," he said.