Understanding the extent and persistence of damage to the heart and other organs as a consequence of Covid-19 infection

This project will characterise the prevalence and extent of heart muscle and multi-organ damage in patients who have been hospitalised with Covid-19 and assess their recovery status after six months. It is co-led by Professor John Greenwood, NIHR Leeds CRF Cardiovascular Director, and Professor Stefan Neubauer, NIHR Oxford BRC Imaging Theme lead and Steering Committee member of the Oxford BHF Centre of Research Excellence. The project forms part of the larger national consortium study (the Post-Hospitalisation COVID-19 study, PHOSP-COVID), led by Professor Chris Brightling at the University of Leicester, co-funded by the MRC and NIHR, to set up a cohort of up to 10,000 patients who have been hospitalised with Covid-19 and who will be tracked to understand all of the possible longer-term health outcomes from the infection. More than 300 patients recovering from relatively severe acute symptoms of Covid-19 infection will be recruited, from over a dozen academic health centre hospitals across the UK. The team will take measurements of important biomarkers and cardiac magnetic resonance images (MRI) of their hearts, with follow-up scans at six months. In six of the centres, over 600 patients will undergo additional tests, including whole-body MRI, chest computed tomography (CT) scans and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Quality of life and mental health questionnaires will also be completed. This will help the team define the damaging effects of the virus on the brain, lungs, heart, liver, kidney, exercise capacity, and overall well-being. The CT scans will be analysed for evidence of inflammation using the techniques in the Flagship Project led by Professor Antoniades (UK C19-CRC). The results will document the impact of Covid-19 infection on people's quality of life in the longer term and shed light on the mechanisms of organ damage. Understanding organ damage could also help the team understand how people's pre-infection health and demographic status influences their risk and could lead to improved treatments in the future.