Ventilatory Efficiency and Beetroot

The lung is the organ most affected by COVID-19. There are patients who successfully overcome the acute COVID-19 infection and their lungs return to a normal state. However, a significant number present dyspnea and fatigue as sequelae without having a pulmonary origin, but with a significant impact on functionality. In our published studies in relation to fatigue in patients with symptoms attributed to persistent COVID, the investigators have shown that there is muscle involvement, observing a decrease in mechanical efficiency. This muscle involvement causes stimulation of ventilation through the ergoreceptors, causing ineffective ventilation. This affectation can be explained by the findings obtained in the muscle biopsies that the investigators have performed, where the investigators observed a splitting of the basement membrane of the capillaries causing an alteration in the diffusion of metabolic substrates and oxygen. The main objective of our project is to be able to observe the response in ventilatory efficiency in patients with symptoms of post-covid fatigue after ingesting beet juice.