Clinical medicine & research

Widespread Nervous System Imbalance in Long COVID May Explain Common Symptoms

Updated

Abstract

Dysautonomia was found in 82% of long COVID patients evaluated in a study of 100 individuals.

  • Heart rate variability abnormalities indicating cardiovascular dysautonomia were observed in 60% of participants.
  • Orthostatic hypotension was present in 12% of the study population.
  • Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) was identified in 10% of patients.
  • Higher scores on the COMPASS-31 scale, which measures autonomic symptoms, were significantly associated with increased long COVID symptom burden.
  • The orthostatic intolerance and gastrointestinal domains of the COMPASS-31 were linked to the greatest symptom burden reported by patients.

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Full Text

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Funding

Competing interests

Disclosures: This study is funded by grants from NOVA Southeastern University, the Office of Research and Development HSRD Long COVID PBRN, and the American Heart Association. The paper was posted on medRxiv on March 26, 2025: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.24.25324564v1
PubMed

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