Study Reveals Lasting Heart Damage Linked to Inflammation in Long COVID Patients

Medical News: A groundbreaking study led by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia has shed light on why so many long COVID sufferers report ongoing heart issues. Research led by Associate Professor Kirsty Short focused on the cause of persistent chest pain and heart palpitations experienced by individuals struggling with long-term COVID-19 effects. By analyzing blood samples from long COVID patients, the researchers discovered elevated levels of cytokines, proteins that help manage inflammation. These cytokines were found at trace levels in the blood even 18 months after infection with SARS-CoV-2.


Study Reveals Lasting Heart Damage Linked to Inflammation in Long COVID Patients

This Medical News report provides insights into how these findings could explain the cardiovascular symptoms many patients face. The team’s analysis uncovered a potential link between chronic inflammation and heart health issues that could affect people long after they’ve recovered from their initial infection.
 
Cytokines and Heart Cell Impact
The study found that these specific cytokines directly impacted the function of cardiomyocytes, which are the cells responsible for the heart’s pumping ability. Cardiomyocytes, essential building blocks of the heart, play a critical role in maintaining cardiovascular health. When damaged, these cells can lead to heart-related symptoms such as chest pain and palpitations.
 
Dr. Short explained, “We discovered elevated levels of cytokines in the blood samples of people at about 18 months post-infection, which could account for the heart issues that persist in many long COVID patients.” The researchers were particularly interested in determining whether these findings could be applicable to other common long COVID symptoms, like neurological or respiratory problems.
 
Innovative Technology and Key Findings
To uncover these results, the researchers used cutting-edge “immuno-storm chip” nanotechnology developed at UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). This device allowed them to detect trace levels of cytokines and identify markers of heart tissue damage at a single-molecule resolution. They analyzed blood samples from 50 participants across Australia, divided into three groups: individuals with long COVID symptoms, those who had fully recovered from COVID-19, and those who never had the virus.
 
Participants with prolonged COVID symptoms showed distinct blood signatures associated with inflammation. Importantly, the trace-level cytokines detected in the blood of long COVID patients were shown to impair the function of cardiomyocytes. The presence of elevated complement and coagulation proteins in the blood further indicated ongoing inflammation, raising concerns about how these molecules may contribute to heart health complications.
 
Probing the Link Between Chronic Inflammation and Long COVID
The UQ team’s findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic inflammation could play a critical role in the lingering symptoms of long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). For some, these symptoms resolve within six months of infection, but others experience prolonged issues, sometimes lasting over two years. This research highlights the need to distinguish between different types of long COVID symptoms and find more precise ways to address them.
 
While over 200 symptoms are associated with PASC, cardiovascular complications stand out as some of the most commonly reported. The American College of Cardiology even identifies two categories of COVID-related heart issues: cardiovascular syndrome (PASC-CVS), marked by symptoms like chest pain, and more severe cardiovascular disease, such as myocarditis and arrhythmia.
 
Cytokines and Cardiomyocyte Dysfunction
One of the major revelations of this study was the effect of cytokines on heart function. Researchers observed a negative impact on the contraction of cardiomyocytes when exposed to cytokine levels similar to those found in long COVID patients. After exposing human-derived cardiomyocytes to a cytokine “cocktail” at different concentrations, the cells exhibited decreased contraction and reduced relaxation velocities - key indicators of impaired heart function.

Notably, the combination of cytokines created a stronger impact on the heart cells compared to individual cytokines, suggesting a unique synergy at trace levels that could contribute to ongoing heart issues in long COVID patients. This inflammation pattern in long COVID might create what researchers call a “microclotting phenotype,” which could be responsible for the cardiovascular symptoms many patients face.
 
Proteomics Unveils New Insights into Cardiovascular Damage
The researchers took their analysis further by performing a detailed proteomics analysis, examining hundreds of proteins in the plasma samples of long COVID patients. They found that many of the proteins related to coagulation and the complement system - a part of the immune response - were significantly more abundant in individuals with prolonged COVID symptoms. This result supports other research pointing to abnormal clotting as a hallmark of long COVID.
 
Complement proteins, usually involved in defending the body against pathogens, were found in higher quantities in long COVID patients, suggesting ongoing immune activation that could also be damaging the body’s own tissues.
 
Researchers noted a specific increase in proteins associated with the complement cascade, which can play a role in both clotting and inflammatory responses. Such changes in the blood composition hint at a prolonged inflammatory state, which could explain why some COVID patients continue to suffer from cardiovascular issues even after recovering from the virus.
 
Limitations and Future Directions
Despite these promising results, researchers caution that more work is needed to confirm their findings in larger groups and in patients infected with newer COVID-19 strains. There’s also a need to explore if similar inflammation patterns affect other long COVID symptoms beyond cardiovascular ones. Dr. Short remarked, “We’re interested in understanding if these mechanisms are relevant for long COVID patients experiencing other symptoms, such as cognitive impairments or respiratory problems.”
 
Future studies may also explore the potential of using trace cytokine levels as biomarkers to diagnose long COVID-associated cardiovascular issues more accurately. Current tests often miss such low levels of inflammation markers, so refining diagnostic tools could be a game-changer for people struggling with long COVID.
 
Conclusion: Hope for Better Diagnosis and Treatment
In conclusion, this pioneering research underscores the lasting impact of long COVID on heart health, specifically through chronic inflammation and trace-level cytokines. By revealing the potential harm to cardiomyocytes from cytokines present at low concentrations, this study provides crucial insights into why so many long COVID patients suffer from heart problems even months or years after recovery. The findings also highlight the need for specialized diagnostic tools that can detect subtle inflammation in the blood, paving the way for better treatment options for long COVID patients.
 
As researchers continue to uncover the complexities of long COVID, this study represents a significant step forward in understanding how inflammation can lead to heart-related issues and other health complications. The University of Queensland and its collaborative institutions hope that by understanding these underlying mechanisms, new treatments and diagnostics can be developed to help the millions still dealing with the aftermath of COVID-19.
 
The study findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal: Nature Microbiology.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01838-z
 
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/a-new-discovery-on-how-the-sars-cov-2-virus-affects-the-heart
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/study-finds-that-one-third-of-recovered-covid-19-individuals-exhibit-subclinical-ventricular-dysfunction-of-the-heart