COVID-19 is on our nerves: sympathetic activity and hemodynamics in young adults recovering from SARS-CoV-2

First published: June 26, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1113/JP281888

Commentary

It has been suggested that severe cases of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may induce adverse physiological effects. In other respects, it remains unclear.

Young adults who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were seen 35 ± 16 days after diagnosis, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, and heart rate (HR) were measured at rest and during a 2-minute cold pressor test (CPT) for 5 minutes each at 30.

Data were compared to age-matched healthy controls, and COV + participants had higher resting MSNA burst frequency, higher MSNA burst incidence and total activity compared to CON.

There was no difference in resting HR, SBP, or DBP, and there was a change in total MSNA from peak baseline during CPT.

There was no difference in HR, SBP, or DBP, and COV + subjects reported less pain during CPT compared to CON.

MSNA was higher in COV + compared to CON during HUT, and a group-by-group interaction in MSNA burst incidence and HR in response to HUT has also been reported.

These measurements indicate that resting sympathetic activity may be elevated after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but HR and BP are not.