Li Xida, Chen Yonghua, Sun Shuo, Dong Haojian, Luo Jianfang
Fifth Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Cardiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
J Thorac Dis. 2025 Aug 31;17(8):5993-6003. doi: 10.21037/jtd-2025-689. Epub 2025 Aug 28.
Cardiac injury is a common complication of long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), affecting heart function and quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the association between electrolyte supplementation and cardiac injury in long COVID-19.
This retrospective study was conducted at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital Zhuhai Hospital (Zhuhai Golden Bay Hospital), utilizing data from patients with cardiac injury related to long COVID-19 who were admitted and managed between January 2021 and January 2023. The patients were grouped according to electrolyte supplementation (supplementation group) or no supplementation (control group). The outcomes included heart rate variability (HRV) parameters, the Minnesota Heart Failure Quality of Life questionnaire, and numerical rating scale (NRS) assessments of quality of life.
A total of 144 patients with cardiac injury related to long COVID-19 were included in the analysis (supplementation group, n=72; control group, n=72). After adjusting for age, sex, creatinine, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein, multivariable linear regression analysis indicated a significant association between supplementation and increased levels of potassium [β=1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-1.5, P=0.001] and magnesium (β=0.18, 95% CI: 0.07-0.29, P=0.001), as well as improvements in HRV parameters, including standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals over 24 hours, root mean square of successive differences, and high-frequency domain indices/low-frequency domain indices (all P<0.05). Additionally, supplementation correlated with a reduced frequency of premature contractions (β=-5.61, 95% CI: -7.50 to -3.72, P=0.01), lower Minnesota scores (β=-6.7, 95% CI: -9.1 to -4.3, P=0.001), and decreased NRS scores (β=-7.2, 95% CI: -6.5 to -7.9, P=0.02).
Electrolyte supplementation may be beneficial in managing cardiac injury associated with long COVID-19. Further research is needed to clarify the role of electrolytes in cardiac injury related to long COVID-19 and to explore management strategies that incorporate electrolyte supplementation.
心脏损伤是2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）长期并发症，会影响心脏功能和生活质量。本研究旨在调查长期COVID-19患者补充电解质与心脏损伤之间的关联。
本回顾性研究在广东省人民医院珠海医院（珠海金湾医院）开展，利用2021年1月至2023年1月期间收治并管理的与长期COVID-19相关的心脏损伤患者的数据。患者根据是否补充电解质分为补充组或非补充组（对照组）。观察指标包括心率变异性（HRV）参数、明尼苏达心力衰竭生活质量问卷以及生活质量数字评定量表（NRS）评估。
共有144例与长期COVID-19相关的心脏损伤患者纳入分析（补充组，n = 72；对照组，n = 72）。在调整年龄、性别、肌酐、总胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白后，多变量线性回归分析表明，补充电解质与血钾水平升高[β = 1.3，95%置信区间（CI）：1.1 - 1.
