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COVID-19 Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.
Long COVID is a common but highly debilitating illness which develops after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19). It is thought to affect as many as 1 in 7 people following COVID-19 infection. It can produce a vast array of symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness, fast heart rate, blood pressure disturbance, temperature disturbance, and dry mouth. Many of these symptoms could be explained by the nervous system being predominantly in a stress or 'fight or flight' response, also known as dysautonomia. One way of assessing whether this is the case is by measuring heart rate variability (HRV). This is the time variation between heart beats and is a marker of how stressed the nervous system is or how strong is the 'fight or flight' response. Heart rate variability can be measured using devices which are worn round the wrist or attach to the chest. An increased variability in heart rate corresponds with a more relaxed nervous system and decreased variability with a more stressed nervous system. Monitoring HRV in real-time and implementing interventions such as a breathing regime to maximise HRV is known as HRV biofeedback. The body can be trained out of the fight or flight response and into the 'rest and digest' mode response of the nervous system in this way and potentially significantly improve symptoms. We propose that for people with Long COVID, a programme of structured breathing exercises over 4 weeks whilst tracking HRV can demonstrate an improvement in HRV and consequently improve Long COVID symptoms.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
This is in the inclusion criteria above
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
Manoj Sivan, MD
01133922564
m.sivan@leeds.ac.uk
The study is sponsored by University of Leeds and is in collaboration with University of Manchester; Leeds Comunity Healthcare NHS Trust.
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