Improving Understanding and Diagnosis of Post-Acute Sequelae of the SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC) in the Heart: A Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Autopsy Study

Introduction: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is preferred for the evaluation of cardiac dysfunction after SARS-CoV-2 infection and may provide information about cardiac tissue inflammation and fibrosis, chamber remodeling, and contractile function. However, linking CMR findings to clinical diagnosis is challenging.

Objective: We propose using cardiac specimens from the RECOVER Autopsy cohort to identify the relationship between post-mortem cardiac MRI findings and histopathology.

Methods: NYU will perform postmortem MRIs on whole heart specimens from autopsy subjects enrolled in the RECOVER initiative. This will allow us to make correlations between the presence of microinfarcts, edema, inflammatory infiltrates, and other CMR findings.

Results: Study was terminated before meaningful results could be obtained.

Conclusion/Discussion: Post-mortem CMR of hearts may be useful in diagnosis of cardiac condition after Long-COVID. This requires further study.

Key Topics:

• Advanced imaging analysis to define the long term impact of COVID on organ structure/function and characterize Long COVID phenotypes
• Remaining gaps in tissue-specific manifestations of Long COVID