Even mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause an imbalance in the cardiovascular system of young adults without preexisting diseases.
This is the conclusion of a research conducted at Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), which also indicates that both obesity and low level of physical activity are determining factors in the post-Covid-19 period that help to alter the autonomic nervous system, responsible for vital functions of the organism, such as blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate. The information is from the Fapesp Agency.
The work, which was supported by Fapesp, followed individuals between the ages of 20 and 40 before being vaccinated.
more thorough diagnosis
“These results give us elements to encourage people, even with mild symptoms of Covid, to seek a more thorough diagnosis after contamination. The baggage triggered by the virus can have consequences and the patient does not know”, evaluates the project coordinator, professor Fábio Santos de Lira, from the Department of Physical Education of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Unesp, Presidente Prudente campus and one of the authors of the published article. in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The main finding was that, even in mild and moderate infections, young adults infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed: greater sympathetic activity (a system that adjusts the body to withstand situations of danger, intense effort and stress); less parasympathetic activity (responsible for making the body calm down after a stressful situation); and global variability when compared to uninfected individuals. That is, in the post-Covid group, there was an increase in heart rate and less activity of the body to “stop” this frequency.
Obese and inactive suffered more
When comparing overweight and obese and/or physically inactive individuals, cardiac autonomic modulation showed worse indices. With this, the results provide new insights into the role of BMI and physical activity in post-Covid-19 infection dysregulation that may contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of later acute symptoms.
“We did not expect such an altered cardiovascular system because they are young and without other diseases. Our work shows that people infected by Covid, even without severe symptoms, can present important functional changes. For example, this variation in heart rate may, in the future, become an arrhythmia”, says the postdoctoral student at Unesp Luciele Minuzzi, one of the researchers who participated in the article.
The reflection of these variations was recorded in the patients’ daily activities, such as the ability to exercise, climb stairs and even walk. They reported tiredness and fatigue. To detect the problem, you can do a simple test known as the six-minute walk test.
According to Minuzzi, the group had already shown metabolic deregulations – such as a higher concentration of lipids in the bloodstream and altered blood glucose – in patients with SARS-CoV-2 who had more severe conditions and were hospitalized.