Montefiore Launches Long-COVID Clinical Trial

Monte Studies Effects of Long Covid

Bronx Voice 

May 13, 2024

NEW YORK - Montefiore Medical Center has been selected to participate in a new research project as part of the National Institute of Health's Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative. 

Dr. Seth Congdon, Medical Director of Montefiore’s COVID-19 Recovery (CORE) Clinic is the principal investigator and will lead the RECOVER-AUTONOMIC study, assessing possible treatments for adults who have an autonomic nervous system disorder called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), related to Long COVID. 

This study will include adults who had COVID and who still have one or more of these autonomic dysfunction symptoms when they stand up from sitting or lying down: fast heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue.

Study participants will be split into groups. Some will receive Ivabradine, an oral medication that reduces heart rate, some will get a placebo, and some will receive guided, non-drug care, such as exercise and nutrition guidance via weekly phone calls. 

Participants will be paid for their time. 

The results from the participants at Montefiore will be combined with results from participants around the country to determine the best treatment approach for patients with Long COVID-related POTS.

NIH RECOVER is a large, nationwide research program designed to understand, treat and prevent Long COVID. 

“The [RECOVER] trials were developed with input from people living with long COVID, caregivers, community representatives, clinicians and scientists all with unique expertise in the field,” said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the NIH and co-chair of RECOVER. “We are grateful for their collective involvement which significantly shaped the trials and the choice of interventions.”

Montefiore’s CORE clinic launched in June 2020 and provides follow-up and recovery engagement to patients who had COVID-19, helping to address their ongoing symptoms and chronic conditions, as well as any new issues that arise related to their COVID-19 infection. 

For more information about the new clinical trial at Montefiore, email scongdon@montefiore.org and rosina.antwi@einsteinmed.edu.