Improvement of post-COVID-19 vaccination dysautonomia with GLP-1 receptor agonist
Vasovagal syncope (VVS) is the most common form of cardiovascular dysautonomia that has multiple etiologies. Post-vaccination dysautonomia, in the form of VVS and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, has been reported in the literature after various vaccines, including COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. Treatment of post-vaccination syndromes has not been explored leaving patients with post-vaccination dysautonomia with limited therapeutic options. We report a 42-year-old woman who developed post-vaccination VVS after COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and improved significantly with semaglutide treatment. Her COMPASS-31 score decreased by 44% post-treatment, Orthostatic Hypotension Questionnaire score decreased by 59%, and an average 24-hr heart rate decreased from 97 bpm to 80 bpm, indicating significant reduction in the autonomic symptom burden. In addition, her post-vaccination neuropathic pain in the feet completely resolved after treatment with semaglutide. This case report suggests that GLP-1 receptor agonists might be beneficial for treatment of recurrent VVS, other forms of cardiovascular dysautonomia and post-vaccination syndromes with neuropathic pain, and need to be considered as candidates for randomized placebo-controlled trials in this patient population.
Authors
- Svetlana Blitshteyn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3982-2031)
- Lawrence B. Afrin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3550-4244)
- Jill R. Schofield (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0053-3996)
- Nichole Haire
Institutions
- Center for Personalized Cancer Treatment (NL)
- Jacobs Institute (US)
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (US)
- Unisys (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology
- Published
- 2026-09-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/08923973.2026.2731357
- Primary Topic
- Cardiovascular Syncope and Autonomic Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00