Extracellular Volume and Fibrosis Volume of Left Ventricular Myocardium Assessed by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Patients with a History of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) enables the assessment of tissue characteristics of the myocardium. Changes in the extracellular volume (ECV) and fibrosis volume (FV) of the myocardium are sensitive and early pathogenetic markers and have prognostic significance. The aim of the study was to assess ECV and FV of left ventricular myocardium in T1 mapping sequence in patients with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, considering vaccination status against COVID-19. The study group consisted of 97 patients (52.54 ± 8.31 years, 53% women and 47% men). The participants were divided into three subgroups: A) patients with a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, unvaccinated against COVID-19 ( n = 39), B) patients with a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a full vaccination schedule against COVID-19 ( n = 22), and C) persons without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection constituting the control subgroup (C, n = 36). All patients underwent 1.5 T cardiac magnetic resonance. In subgroup A compared to subgroups B and C, both the ECV whole myocardium and ECV segments 2, 5–6, 8, and 10–11 were statistically significantly higher. In addition, the ECV segment 16 was statistically significantly higher in subgroup A than in subgroup C. Also, the FV whole myocardium was statistically significantly higher in subgroup A in comparison to subgroups B and C. There were no significant differences in ECV and FV between subgroups B and C. In summary, unvaccinated against COVID-19 patients with a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection have higher myocardial ECV and FV values in the T1 mapping sequence, compared to those without COVID-19 and those suffering from COVID-19, previously vaccinated with the full vaccination schedule.