Predictors of Cardiovascular Symptoms Among Long COVID Patients: Data from the Polish Long COVID Cardiovascular (PoLoCOV-CVD) Study.

Background and aims: Long COVID symptoms persist globally, with a notable rise in cardiovascular disease (CVD) among COVID-19 survivors, including those without prior risk factors or hospitalizations. This study aims to identify predictors of cardiovascular-related Long COVID symptoms.

Methods

This study included subjects with post-SARS-CoV-2 infections, categorizing them into three groups: non-Long COVID (non-LC), Long COVID (LC), and Long COVID with cardiovascular symptoms (cardio-LC) as part of the Polish Long COVID Cardiovascular (PoLoCOV-CVD) study collected between the years 2020 and 2022, comprising 4000 participants. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to report the prevalence and determinants of quality of life in cardio-LC, based on patient self-reported data including comorbidities and medications.

Results

Of the 704 patients analyzed, 71.9% were female with a median age of 54 years (IQR: 45-64). Cardio-LC patients had statistically significant differences relative to the non-LC group in terms of blood pressure, elevated LDL cholesterol (p = 0.010), and non-HDL cholesterol (p = 0.013). In addition, cardio-LC patients were more likely to be female (p < 0.001) who exhibited psychological conditions, such as sleep disturbances (p < 0.001), anxiety (p < 0.001), and depression (p < 0.001) compared to the non-LC group. However, the multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that only the female gender and sleep disturbances remained an independent predictor associated with cardio-LC (OR: 1.66, CI 1.12-2.46; OR: 1.742, CI 1.12-2.70) compared to participants without Long COVID.

Conclusions

The significant positive association of female gender and sleep disturbances with cardiovascular complications during Long COVID highlights critical demographic and psychological factors that deserve attention in clinical practice.