Deceleration capacity is associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome in COVID-19.

• Deceleration capacity as a marker of the cardiac autonomic function is an objective parameter for quick risk stratification of patients with Covid-19. • DC could in principle be calculated from any device that continuously records the heart rate, even in the outpatient area. • Heart rate variability analysis is a non-invasive procedure assessing the sympathetic and vagal balance of the autonomic nervous system. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is considered the main cause of COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality. Early and reliable risk stratification is of crucial clinical importance in order to identify persons at risk for developing a severe course of disease. Deceleration capacity (DC) of heart rate as a marker of cardiac autonomic function predicts outcome in persons with myocardial infarction and heart failure. We hypothesized that reduced modulation of heart rate may be helpful in identifying persons with COVID-19 at risk for developing ARDS. We prospectively enrolled 60 consecutive COVID-19 positive persons presenting at the University Hospital of Tuebingen. Arterial blood gas analysis and 24 h-Holter ECG recordings were performed and analyzed at admission. The primary end point was defined as development of ARDS with regards to the Berlin classification. 61.7% (37 of 60 persons) developed an ARDS. In persons with ARDS DC was significantly reduced when compared to persons with milder course of infection (3.2 ms vs. 6.6 ms, p < 0.001). DC achieved a good discrimination performance (AUC = 0.76) for ARDS in COVID-19 persons. In a multivariate analysis, decreased DC was associated with the development of ARDS. Our data suggest a promising role of DC to risk stratification in COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]