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. 2022 Mar 26;19(7):3961.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19073961.

Cardio-Pulmonary Dysfunction Evaluation in Patients with Persistent Post-COVID-19 Headache

Álvaro Aparisi  1 , Cristina Ybarra-Falcón  2 , Carolina Iglesias-Echeverría  2 , Mario García-Gómez  2 , Marta Marcos-Mangas  2 , Gonzalo Valle-Peñacoba  3 , Manuel Carrasco-Moraleja  2 , César Fernández-de-Las-Peñas  4 , Ángel L Guerrero  3 , David García-Azorín  3
Affiliations

Cardio-Pulmonary Dysfunction Evaluation in Patients with Persistent Post-COVID-19 Headache

Álvaro Aparisi et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background (1): Headache is a prevalent symptom experienced during ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection, but also weeks after recovery. Whether cardio-pulmonary dysfunction contributes causally to headache persistence is unknown. Methods (2): We conducted a case-control analysis nested in a prospective cohort study. Individuals were recruited from August 2020 to December 2020. Patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of long-COVID headache for three months after COVID-19 resolution. We compared demographic data, clinical variables, cardio-pulmonary laboratory biomarkers, quality of life, and cardio-pulmonary function between groups. Results (3): A cohort of 70 COVID-19 patients was evaluated. Patients with headaches (n = 10; 14.3%) were more frequently female (100% vs. 58.4%; p = 0.011) and younger (46.9 ± 8.45 vs. 56.13 ± 12 years; p = 0.023). No between-group differences in laboratory analysis, resting echocardiography, cardio-pulmonary exercise test, or pulmonary function tests were observed. Conclusion (4): In this exploratory study, no significant differences in cardio-pulmonary dysfunction were observed between patients with and without long-COVID headache during mid-term follow-up.

Keywords: COVID-19; cardio-pulmonary exercise testing; headache disorders; long-COVID syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study procedures.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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