Possibilities of Echocardiography in Acute Form of New Coronavirus Infection COVID-19 and in Post-COVID Syndrome

The article analyzes scientific publications on the possibilities of echocardiographic examination in the acute period of COVID-19 and after the recovery of the new coronavirus infection. The use of echocardiography in the assessment of right ventricular dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, left ventricular dysfunction, in acute coronary syndromes, in the diagnosis of effusion in the pericardial cavity, in the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis, as well as in post-COVID syndrome is reviewed. The prevalence of echocardiographic signs of heart damage and possible mechanisms of cardiac pathology are considered. It has been shown that echocardiographic analysis in patients with COVID-19 provides important information about the systolic and diastolic function of the left and right ventricles, myocardial remodeling, regional wall kinetics, the presence of effusion in the pericardial cavity, as well as valvular pathology in the context of possible infectious endocarditis. An analysis of the literature sources indicates the prognostic value of the myocardial strain of the right and left ventricles, assessed using the speckle tracking echocardiographic technique, especially in people with severe COVID-19. Echocardiography data can be useful in the diagnosis of such cardiovascular complications of the new coronavirus infection as acute coronary syndromes, heart failure, pericarditis, and infectious endocarditis. Echocardiography results are of diagnostic value both in the acute period and in people who have suffered from COVID-19, especially with the development of post-COVID syndrome. The authors concluded that long-term follow-up with echocardiographic monitoring of people who have suffered a new coronavirus infection is important, with the mandatory inclusion of systolic myocardial strain analysis of the left and right ventricles in the echocardiography protocol.

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