• Elizane Poquiviqui do Nascimento, Larissa Fernanda Estevam do Nascimento, Lhara de Freitas Castro, Vilena Cavalcante de Barros, Emily Rachel Pereira Bandeira, Thiago Bezerra Wanderley E Lima, Matías Otto-Yáñez, FregoneziGuilherme Augusto de FreitasGAF0000-0003-4938-7018Laboratório de Inovação Tecnológica em Reabilitação, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Campus Universitário Central, Natal 59078970, RN, Brazil.Pneu, and ResquetiVanessa RegianeVRLaboratório de Inovação Tecnológica em Reabilitação, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Campus Universitário Central, Natal 59078970, RN, Brazil.PneumoCardioVascular Lab/HUOL, Hospita.
• Laboratório de Inovação Tecnológica em Reabilitação, Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Campus Universitário Central, Natal 59078970, RN, Brazil.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2025 Jan 14; 61 (1).

AbstractBackground and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the functional capacity of post-COVID-19 patients with a control group and analyze cardiac hemodynamics and muscle tissue oxygenation responses during assessment protocols in both groups. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving patients with COVID-19 and a control group who were all aged ≥18 years. Participants underwent two functional capacity tests: the one-minute sit-stand test (1-STS) and the six-minute walk test (6MWT). Cardiac hemodynamic responses were evaluated using impedance during the 1-STS, and tissue perfusion responses in the oxygenation were recorded during and after both tests. The Friedman test was used for within-group and the Mann-Whitney test was used for between-group comparisons. Results: Thirty-six post-COVID-19 patients (median age 36 years, BMI 26.51 kg/m2) and eleven control subjects (median age 25 years, BMI 23.71 kg/m2) were enrolled. The post-COVID-19 group showed a 20% decrease in 6MWT distance (p = 0.0001) and a 28% decrease in 1-STS repetitions (p = 0.01) versus the control group. Cardiac hemodynamic differences were observed in the post-COVID-19 group during the 1-STS, with reductions in the stroke volume index (18%, p = 0.004), cardiac index (21%, p = 0.0009), Contractility Index (78%, p = 0.0001), and Ejection Fraction (29%, p = 0.0003) and increases in Systemic Vascular Resistance (25%, p = 0.03) and the Systemic Vascular Resistance Index (27%, p = 0.0007). Tissue oxygenation during the 6MWT and 1-STS showed no significant differences between groups. Conclusions: The post-COVID-19 subjects exhibited a reduction in functional capacity, changes in hemodynamic responses related to cardiac and systemic vascular resistance, and a similar pattern of muscle oxygen delivery and consumption in both tests.

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