Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part E (2025)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has left a wide range of long-term sequelae, particularly affecting the cardiovascular system. Heart failure symptoms have been reported among survivors, yet their prevalence remains poorly documented in Mexico. 
Objective: To determine the prevalence of heart failure symptoms in COVID-19 survivors. 
Methods: An observational, descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted at IMSS General Hospital No. 20, Puebla, Mexico. Clinical records of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between January 2020 and July 2024 were reviewed. Heart failure symptoms were identified according to the Framingham criteria. Sociodemographic and clinical data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS v30. 
Results: Ninety-three patients were included (median age 64 years; range 19–99). Of these, 17 patients (18.3%) presented symptoms consistent with heart failure. The most frequent symptoms were exercise intolerance (94.1%), orthopnea (88.2%), nocturnal cough (82.4%), and bendopnea (76.5%). Heart failure symptoms were observed across all levels of COVID-19 severity, with a higher frequency in patients with severe infection (47.1%). Most affected patients were older adults (median 80 years) and predominantly male (64.7%). According to the NYHA classification, 70.6% of symptomatic patients had mild functional limitation (Class I–II), while 29.4% presented marked or severe limitation (Class III–IV). 
Conclusion: The study demonstrates a higher prevalence of heart failure symptoms among COVID-19 survivors in this Mexican population compared to international reports. These findings highlight the need for long-term cardiovascular follow-up and preventive strategies in post-COVID care.