Surviving COVID-19
Marquette exercise science professors to research COVID-19 survivors to understand the potential long-term health and functional effects of the virus
By Lauren Shaw, junior in the Diederich College of Communication and communication intern in the Office of Marketing and Communication
Dr. Sandra Hunter is a professor of exercise science in the College of Health Sciences and director of the Athletic and Human Performance Research Center. She is also chair of the steering committee for the COVID-19 Research Initiative at Marquette, which brings together the expertise of faculty, students and staff from different disciplines across campus to address the various complex issues resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspired by a loved-one’s troubling COVID-19 diagnosis and ongoing recovery struggles, Dr. Sandra Hunter — with help from her colleagues in the Exercise Science Department — is about to launch a comprehensive research project on COVID-19 survivors and their health and function in the months after the disease.
The study aims to identify the various health problems COVID-19 patients may face even after rehabilitation, so that health care professionals can provide and prescribe patients the best and necessary care during and after the recovery process and contribute to better health outcomes.
It is a segment of the pandemic, Hunter says, that has not yet seen a lot of attention, as much of the focus remains on tracking and mitigating the spread of the virus, as well as what the initial treatments are and the hopes for a vaccine.
“We know when a patient is discharged from the hospital for any medical condition, or is deemed recovered, that is not and should not be the end of their care — whether that care be through independent care at home with instructions or through provider follow up appointments,” Hunter says. “This is also true for COVID-19 survivors, yet there is not a whole lot of information out there about what recovery really means for COVID-19 patients, and the unique risks that may remain.”
Hunter’s study will look at the overall health, cardiovascular and muscle function, and exercise capacity of COVID-19 survivors, as well as the potential for survivors to develop long-term health conditions, specifically those that affect limb muscles and the heart and lungs. Hunter says a few national studies have found that COVID-19 survivors can develop long-term heart and lung problems linked to their COVID-19 diagnosis, but what is unknown is just how those conditions will impact survivors in the long run.
In the next few months, Hunter and a group of faculty and students will be performing a variety of health assessments on a group of up to 300 COVID-19 survivors. The testing and research will take place at the AHPRC.
The research group will soon begin recruiting survivors to be part of the study, as well as conducting initial health and health history screenings.
Hunter and the research group intend to perform tests on the participating COVID-19 survivors that will measure their physical abilities and limitations.
The tests will measure body composition — muscle, bone and fat mass — using dual x-ray absorptiometry and lung function using spirometry, as well as pain perception and limb strength of arms and legs. A walking and cycle exercise test will also gauge the aerobic function of survivors, and a resting electrocardiogram test will monitor a subject’s electrical signals in the heart and measure the rate and strength of a heartbeat, which can help determine a subject’s risk of myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle that can reduce the heart’s ability to pump, causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms.
The COVID-19 survivors will be matched for age and sex with a group of people who have not had COVID-19. The team of researchers will also survey the participants on their levels of anxiety, depression and general well-being. Overall, these tests will provide meaningful insight into the long-term recovery and health and function of COVID-19 survivors.
Co-principal investigator Dr. Paula Papanek, professor of exercise science and an expert in physiology says determining the risk levels of COVID-19 survivors developing long-term health conditions, like myocarditis, pain conditions and muscle weakness will create a better understanding of the types of adjustments COVID-19 survivors will have to make to lead a healthy, informed lifestyle.
“It is very likely that these survivors who develop myocarditis will need rehab,” Papanek says. “Whether it be long- or short-term. It is all uncertain right now and that is the purpose and value of testing people and doing this study.”
Hunter’s COVID-19 survivor research joins at least 40 other research projects as part of Marquette’s COVID-19 Research Initiative. The projects draw on the strengths of the Marquette research and teaching community and involve both faculty and students from the sciences, humanities, education, dentistry, nursing, law, engineering and other disciplines to address some of the societal problems and adjustments needed as a result of the pandemic.
“The initiative illustrates the interdependence of research and teaching at Marquette with the many educational opportunities for students arising from the research including a summer research program for the undergraduates, classes directly addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and student blogs on the pandemic,” Hunter says. “In addition, several Marquette faculty members are collaborating with partners from other institutions in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Research Initiative, which is focused on clinical and health systems studies as it relates to the pandemic.”
