A Systematic Review of Post-COVID Electrocardiographic Changes in Young Athletes

Post-coronavirus disease (COVID) syndrome involves the presentation of various new, returning, or ongoing symptoms, more than four weeks after COVID-19 infection. Post-infectious myocarditis is a potential sequela, associated with greater arrhythmogenic potential. Thus, it is an outcome that should...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2022-11, Vol.14 (11), p.e31829
Main Authors: Laranjeira, Thiago A, Menezes, Jr, Antonio S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymptomatic
Athletes
Cardiac arrhythmia
Cardiovascular disease
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Electrocardiography
Heart
Infections
Ischemia
Magnetic resonance imaging
Myocarditis
Physiology
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Sinuses
Systematic review
Viral infections
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Summary:Post-coronavirus disease (COVID) syndrome involves the presentation of various new, returning, or ongoing symptoms, more than four weeks after COVID-19 infection. Post-infectious myocarditis is a potential sequela, associated with greater arrhythmogenic potential. Thus, it is an outcome that should be considered in athletes. An undiagnosed heart condition associated with adrenergic stimulus caused by high-intensity exercises can lead to sudden cardiac death. Electrocardiography (ECG) plays a role in cardiac screening for potential cardiac changes associated with myocarditis. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of electrocardiographic alterations in athletes during the post-COVID period. A systematic review of longitudinal observational studies in the PubMed, LILACS, and CENTRAL databases that evaluated athletes in the post-COVID period with ECG was performed. A total of four articles involving 5371 patients were included in the analysis. The athletes mostly presented with mild asymptomatic or symptomatic COVID-19. A low prevalence of electrocardiographic alterations suggestive of cardiac involvement by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in this population. Electrocardiographic abnormalities indicative of myocarditis are uncommon in young athletes throughout the post-COVID era. However, anomalies that may signify and need further cardiovascular testing were found.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.31829