tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Clin Med
. 2023 Mar 13;12(6):2233.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12062233.
The Role of Rehabilitation in Arterial Function Properties of Convalescent COVID-19 Patients
Maria Ioanna Gounaridi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Angelos Vontetsianos[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Evangelos Oikonomou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Panagiotis Theofilis[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Nikolaos Chynkiamis[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Stamatios Lampsas[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Artemis Anastasiou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Georgios Angelos Papamikroulis[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Efstratios Katsianos[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Konstantinos Kalogeras[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Theodoros Pesiridis[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aikaterini Tsatsaragkou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Manolis Vavuranakis[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nikolaos Koulouris[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gerasimos Siasos[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease, although arterial function involvement has been documented. We assess the impact of a post-acute COVID-19 rehabilitation program on endothelium-dependent vasodilation and arterial wall properties. We enrolled 60 convalescent patients from COVID-19 and one-month post-acute disease, who were randomized at a 1:1 ratio in a 3-month cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program (study group) or not (control group). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was evaluated by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and arterial wall properties were evaluated by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) at 1 month and at 4 months post-acute disease. FMD was significantly improved in both the study (6.2 ± 1.8% vs. 8.6 ± 2.4%, p < 0.001) and control groups (5.9 ± 2.2% vs. 6.6 ± 1.8%, p = 0.009), but the improvement was significantly higher in the study group (rehabilitation) (p < 0.001). PWV was improved in the study group (8.2 ± 1.3 m/s vs. 6.6 ± 1.0 m/s, p < 0.001) but not in the control group (8.9 ± 1.8 m/s vs. 8.8 ± 1.9 m/s, p = 0.74). Similarly, AIx was improved in the study group (25.9 ± 9.8% vs. 21.1 ± 9.3%, p < 0.001) but not in the control group (27.6 ± 9.2% vs. 26.2 ± 9.8 m/s, p = 0.15). Convalescent COVID-19 subjects of the study group (rehabilitation) with increased serum levels of circulating IL-6 had a greater reduction in FMD. Conclusively, a 3-month cardiopulmonary post-acute COVID-19 rehabilitation program improves recovery of endothelium-dependent vasodilation and arteriosclerosis.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; arterial stiffness; cardiovascular disease; endothelium-dependent vasodilation; flow-mediated dilation; long COVID-19 syndrome; post-COVID-19; pulse-wave velocity; rehabilitation.
. 2023 Mar 13;12(6):2233.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12062233.
The Role of Rehabilitation in Arterial Function Properties of Convalescent COVID-19 Patients
Maria Ioanna Gounaridi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Angelos Vontetsianos[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Evangelos Oikonomou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Panagiotis Theofilis[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Nikolaos Chynkiamis[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Stamatios Lampsas[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Artemis Anastasiou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Georgios Angelos Papamikroulis[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Efstratios Katsianos[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Konstantinos Kalogeras[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Theodoros Pesiridis[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Aikaterini Tsatsaragkou[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Manolis Vavuranakis[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nikolaos Koulouris[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gerasimos Siasos[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 36983234
- DOI: 10.3390/jcm12062233
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease, although arterial function involvement has been documented. We assess the impact of a post-acute COVID-19 rehabilitation program on endothelium-dependent vasodilation and arterial wall properties. We enrolled 60 convalescent patients from COVID-19 and one-month post-acute disease, who were randomized at a 1:1 ratio in a 3-month cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program (study group) or not (control group). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was evaluated by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and arterial wall properties were evaluated by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) at 1 month and at 4 months post-acute disease. FMD was significantly improved in both the study (6.2 ± 1.8% vs. 8.6 ± 2.4%, p < 0.001) and control groups (5.9 ± 2.2% vs. 6.6 ± 1.8%, p = 0.009), but the improvement was significantly higher in the study group (rehabilitation) (p < 0.001). PWV was improved in the study group (8.2 ± 1.3 m/s vs. 6.6 ± 1.0 m/s, p < 0.001) but not in the control group (8.9 ± 1.8 m/s vs. 8.8 ± 1.9 m/s, p = 0.74). Similarly, AIx was improved in the study group (25.9 ± 9.8% vs. 21.1 ± 9.3%, p < 0.001) but not in the control group (27.6 ± 9.2% vs. 26.2 ± 9.8 m/s, p = 0.15). Convalescent COVID-19 subjects of the study group (rehabilitation) with increased serum levels of circulating IL-6 had a greater reduction in FMD. Conclusively, a 3-month cardiopulmonary post-acute COVID-19 rehabilitation program improves recovery of endothelium-dependent vasodilation and arteriosclerosis.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; arterial stiffness; cardiovascular disease; endothelium-dependent vasodilation; flow-mediated dilation; long COVID-19 syndrome; post-COVID-19; pulse-wave velocity; rehabilitation.