Department of Kinesiology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas.
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2022 Jul 1;323(1):H59-H64. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00189.2022. Epub 2022 May 20.
We and others have previously shown that COVID-19 results in vascular and autonomic impairments in young adults. However, the newest variant of COVID-19 (Omicron) appears to have less severe complications. Therefore, we investigated whether recent breakthrough infection with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave impacts cardiovascular health in young adults. We hypothesized that measures of vascular health and indices of cardiac autonomic function would be impaired in those who had the Omicron variant of COVID-19 when compared with controls who never had COVID-19. We studied 23 vaccinated adults who had COVID-19 after December 25, 2021 (Omicron; age, 23 ± 3 yr; 14 females) within 6 wk of diagnosis compared with 13 vaccinated adults who never had COVID-19 (age, 26 ± 4 yr; 7 females). Macro- and microvascular function were assessed using flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and reactive hyperemia, respectively. Arterial stiffness was determined as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and augmentation index (AIx). Heart rate (HR) variability and cardiac baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) were assessed as indices of cardiac autonomic function. FMD was not different between control (5.9 ± 2.8%) and Omicron (6.1 ± 2.3%; = 0.544). Similarly, reactive hyperemia ( = 0.884) and arterial stiffness were not different between groups (e.g., cfPWV; control, 5.9 ± 0.6 m/s and Omicron, 5.7 ± 0.8 m/s; = 0.367). Finally, measures of HR variability and cardiac BRS were not different between groups (all, > 0.05). Collectively, these data suggest preserved vascular health and cardiac autonomic function in young, otherwise healthy adults who had breakthrough cases of COVID-19 during the Omicron wave. We show for the first time that breakthrough cases of COVID-19 during the Omicron wave does not impact vascular health and cardiac autonomic function in young adults. These are promising results considering earlier research showing impaired vascular and autonomic function following previous variants of COVID-19. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the recent Omicron variant is not detrimental to cardiovascular health in young, otherwise healthy, vaccinated adults.
我们和其他人之前已经表明，COVID-19 会导致年轻人的血管和自主神经损伤。然而，COVID-19 的最新变体（Omicron）似乎并发症较轻。因此，我们研究了在 Omicron 波期间最近突破性感染 COVID-19 是否会影响年轻人的心血管健康。我们假设，与从未感染过 COVID-19 的对照组相比，感染 Omicron 变异株的 COVID-19 的血管健康指标和心脏自主功能指数会受到损害。我们研究了 23 名在 2021 年 12 月 25 日后（Omicron 变异株）确诊 COVID-19 的接种成年人（年龄 23±3 岁，14 名女性），并与 13 名从未感染过 COVID-19 的接种成年人（年龄 26±4 岁，7 名女性）进行了比较。使用血流介导的扩张（FMD）和反应性充血分别评估大血管和微血管功能。颈动脉-股动脉脉搏波速度（cfPWV）和增强指数（AIx）用于确定动脉僵硬程度。心率变异性和心脏压力反射敏感性（BRS）作为心脏自主功能的指标进行评估。FMD 在对照组（5.9±2.8%）和 Omicron 组（6.1±2.3%）之间没有差异（ = 0.544）。同样，反应性充血（ = 0.884）和动脉僵硬在两组之间没有差异（例如，cfPWV；对照组为 5.9±0.6 m/s，Omicron 组为 5.7±0.8 m/s； = 0.367）。最后，心率变异性和心脏 BRS 的测量值在两组之间没有差异（均 > 0.05）。总的来说，这些数据表明，在 Omicron 波期间突破性感染 COVID-19 的年轻、健康的成年人的血管健康和心脏自主功能得到了保留。我们首次表明，Omicron 波期间突破性感染 COVID-19 不会影响年轻人的血管健康和心脏自主功能。考虑到早期的研究表明，以前的 COVID-19 变体后会导致血管和自主神经功能受损，这些结果令人鼓舞。总的来说，这些数据表明，最近的 Omicron 变体对年轻、健康、接种疫苗的成年人的心血管健康没有不利影响。
