Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to cardiovascular health, with increasing evidence highlighting myocardial involvement even in patients without overt cardiac symptoms. Subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, which remains undetectable by conventional echocardiography, may predispose patients to long-term complications. Speckle Tracking Echocardiography (STE), particularly through the measurement of Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS), has emerged as a highly sensitive and reproducible imaging modality for early detection of myocardial impairment. This study aimed to evaluate the role of STE in identifying subclinical LV dysfunction in patients recovered from COVID-19.

Methods:

A prospective observational study was conducted involving 50 post-COVID-19 patients with no clinical or conventional echocardiographic evidence of cardiac involvement, alongside 50 healthy, age- and sex-matched controls. All participants underwent comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography, including 2D STE. GLS values were obtained for each subject and analyzed. Patients with any known cardiac conditions were excluded from the study.

Results:

Despite having preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), post-COVID-19 patients demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in GLS values compared to controls (p < 0.001). The findings suggest early myocardial dysfunction that may not be captured through standard echocardiographic parameters alone. This reduction in strain values could reflect ongoing myocardial injury or inflammation secondary to the viral infection.

Conclusion:

2D Speckle Tracking Echocardiography is an effective, non-invasive modality for detecting subclinical LV dysfunction in post-COVID-19 patients. Incorporating GLS assessment into routine cardiac evaluation may enhance early diagnosis, risk stratification, and long-term follow-up in this patient population, even in the absence of clinical symptoms.