Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Long COVID may persist beyond three years: Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation remains effective

Çise Güngör 1 ,Levent Karataş 1 ,Nesrin Demirsoy 1
1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye DOI : 10.5606/tftrd.2026.17063 A previously healthy 38-year-old female patient experienced persistent dyspnea and fatigue for over 36 months following severe COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). Despite normal cardiopulmonary evaluations, the patient was diagnosed with long COVID and completed a 30-session cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program, including aerobic, resistance, and inspiratory muscle training. Marked improvements were observed in peak VO₂ (maximal aerobic capacity), metabolic equivalents, oxygen uptake efficiency, heart rate recovery, handgrip strength, and quality of life, without adverse events. To our knowledge, this represents the longest documented duration of long COVID successfully treated with cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, highlighting the potential benefits of rehabilitation even after prolonged symptom persistence. Keywords : Cardiopulmonary exercise test, exercise therapy, post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, rehabilitation