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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. General Cardiovascular Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1450470

Cardiovascular outcomes in long COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Ting Zhang Ting Zhang 1*Zhimao Li Zhimao Li 1Qimin Mei Qimin Mei 1*Joseph Harold Walline Joseph Harold Walline 2*Zhaocai Zhang Zhaocai Zhang 3Yecheng Liu Yecheng Liu 1*Huadong Zhu Huadong Zhu 1*Bin Du Bin Du 1*
  • 1 Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China
  • 2 Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
  • 3 Department of Critical Care Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: There is growing evidence that patients with SARS-CoV-2 (The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) may have a variety of cardiovascular complications in the post-acute phase of COVID-19, but these manifestations have not yet been comprehensively characterized. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of primary research papers which evaluated individuals at least four weeks after confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and reported on cardiovascular disease prevalence. Systematic search conducted without language restrictions from December 1, 2019 to June 31, 2022 on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane library, ProQuest Coronavirus Research Database, COVID-19 Living Overview of the Evidence (L-OVE) subset of Episteminokos and the World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 databases. Studywas reported according to MOOSE-lists and the PRISMA guidelines. The risk of bias was identified using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for observational studies.Random-effects meta-analyses examined the pooled risk difference in the prevalence of each symptom or symptom combination in cases with confirmed SARS-coV-2 infection compared with controls.Results: Eight cohort studies were eligible, including nearly 10 million people. Long COVID-19 was associated with a higher risk of thromboembolic disorders (HR 3.12

    Keywords: COVID-19, cardiovascular, Long-covid, Meta-analysis, COVID-19 management

    Received: 16 Jul 2024; Accepted: 03 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Li, Mei, Walline, Zhang, Liu, Zhu and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ting Zhang, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China
    Qimin Mei, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China
    Joseph Harold Walline, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, 17033, Pennsylvania, United States
    Yecheng Liu, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China
    Huadong Zhu, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China
    Bin Du, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.