Transforming growth factor beta-1 in patients with hypertension who had COVID-19

Post-covid syndrome is a multisystem disease. The totality of disorders of organs and systems, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causes significant damage to human health for a long time, especially if the patient has comorbid pathology. Taking into account the concern about the impact of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system, several mechanisms of the direct impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the specified system are considered. It should be noted that there is a limited number of studies on the observation of patients with post-covid syndrome. Today, the priority direction is the study of predictors of the adverse course of cardiovascular diseases, especially after COVID-19. Transforming growth factor β1 can be considered one of the potential markers of cardiovascular complications. The aim of our study was to evaluate the level of transforming growth factor β1 in patients with hypertension who had COVID-19. The cross-sectional study included 27 patients with hypertension after COVID-19. 16 patients with controlled hypertension (blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg) formed the first group. The second group was formed by 11 patients with uncontrolled hypertension (blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg). We determined the increased level of transforming growth factor β1 and its relationship with the glucose (r=0.38, p=0.049). The level of blood pressure control was associated with increasing age of patients, lower glomerular filtration rate (p<0.01), and worse glucose control (p<0.05). Thus, the data indicate that transforming growth factor β1 may be a possible factor inducing the development of cardiometabolic disorders in patients with hypertension after COVID-19.