Approximately 100 men aged 20-25 participated in the study. Students from the Main School of Fire Service in Warsaw were selected for the study group, where there had been a recent outbreak of infections, and students from other Warsaw universities were selected to make up the control group.

– Each of the participants underwent a set of tests, including a 24-hour Holter test, which can be used to analyze heart rate variability – says Mateusz Soliński, PhD, from the Faculty of Physics at the WUT. – By analyzing this variability, we can obtain information about the activity of the autonomic nervous system, that is, that part of it over which we do not have direct control.

To study the variability of heart rhythm, researchers from the WUT and doctors from the Ministry of Interior and Administration used a number of mathematical methods of signal analysis – from the simplest, such as the arithmetic mean or standard deviation, to really complex non-linear methods. 

The results obtained by the researchers show that coronavirus infection, even when the symptoms are quite mild or nonexistent, has not been without impact on the body's functioning. "We assume that this may be related to pulmonary circulation disorders in people with COVID-19. – explains Mateusz Soliński, PhD. –  This circulation is responsible for transporting blood from the heart to the lungs and oxygenating it."

More information in the publication in Scientific Reports by dr. inż. Mateusz Soliński, dr inż. Monika Petelczyc, dr. hab. inż. Teodor Buchner, mgr inż. Joanna Aftyka, prof. dr. hab. inż. Jan Jacek Żebrowski and doctors from the hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration: prof. Agnieszka Pawlak, prof. Robert Gil, prof. Zbigniew J. Król.

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