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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has had a widespread global impact. In addition to the main respiratory symptoms, research has found significant effects of this virus on the cardiovascular system. This article comprehensively explores the phenomenon of "long-term COVID-19" or postacute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, wherein some recovered patients continue to experience long-term health issues after the resolution of acute illness. We delve into the potential reasons behind these symptoms, including increased risk of heart disease, myocardial injury, abnormal inflammatory responses, thrombosis formation, and immune system dysfunction, among others. Furthermore, this paper highlights the potential association between long-term COVID-19 and HF (heart failure), and proposes corresponding preventive strategies. To address this, we advocate for a collaborative approach involving interdisciplinary teams for treatment and management., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background The National Institutes of Health (NIH) mobilized more than $4 billion in extramural funding for the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessing the research output from this effort is crucial to understanding how the scientific community leveraged federal funding and responded to this public health crisis. Methods NIH-funded COVID-19 grants awarded between January 2020 and December 2021 were identified from NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results using the "COVID-19 Response" filter. PubMed identifications of publications under these grants were collected and the NIH iCite tool was used to determine citation counts and focus (eg, clinical, animal). iCite and the NIH's LitCOVID database were used to identify publications directly related to COVID-19. Publication titles and Medical Subject Heading terms were used as inputs to a machine learning–based model built to identify common topics/themes within the publications. Results and Conclusions We evaluated 2401 grants that resulted in 14 654 publications. The majority of these papers were published in peer-reviewed journals, though 483 were published to preprint servers. In total, 2764 (19%) papers were directly related to COVID-19 and generated 252 029 citations. These papers were mostly clinically focused (62%), followed by cell/molecular (32%), and animal focused (6%). Roughly 60% of preprint publications were cell/molecular-focused, compared with 26% of nonpreprint publications. The machine learning–based model identified the top 3 research topics to be clinical trials and outcomes research (8.5% of papers), coronavirus-related heart and lung damage (7.3%), and COVID-19 transmission/epidemiology (7.2%). This study provides key insights regarding how researchers leveraged federal funding to study the COVID-19 pandemic during its initial phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected medical practice. More than 7,000,000 patients died worldwide after being infected with COVID-19; however, no specific laboratory markers have yet been established to predict death related to this disease. In contrast, electrocardiographic changes due to COVID-19 include QT prolongation and ST-T changes; however, there have not been studies on the ambulatory electrocardiographic markers of COVID-19. We encountered three patients diagnosed as having COVID-19 who did not have a prior history of significant structural heart diseases. All patients had abnormalities in ambulatory echocardiogram parameters detected by high-resolution 24 h electrocardiogram monitoring: positive late potentials (LPs) and T-wave alternans (TWA), abnormal heart rate variability (HRV), and heart rate turbulence (HRT). Case 1 involved a 78-year-old woman with a history of chronic kidney disease, Case 2 involved a 76-year-old man with hypertension and diabetes, and Case 3 involved a 67-year-old man with renal cancer, lung cancer, and diabetes. None of them had a prior history of significant structural heart disease. Although no significant consistent increases in clinical markers were observed, all three patients died, mainly because of respiratory failure with mild heart failure. The LP, TWA, HRV, and HRT were positive in all three cases with no significant structural cardiac disease at the initial phase of admission. The further accumulation of data regarding ambulatory electrocardiographic markers in patients with COVID-19 is needed. Depending on the accumulation of data, the LP, TWA, HRV, and HRT could be identified as potential risk factors for COVID-19 pneumonia in the early phase of admission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]