Red sport, red tape: the Olympic games, the Soviet sports bureaucracy, and the Cold War, 1952-1980

Based on archival sources only accessible since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, this dissertation is the first historical analysis of the Soviet sports bureaucracy spanning the period from the USSR's Olympic debut in 1952 on the eve of Stalin's death through the 1980 Games held in Moscow. Since their entrance into the Olympic Games, Soviet athletes have been a dominant force in the world sporting community. This dissertation finds that behind the high-profile performances of Soviet elite athletes, a legion of sports bureaucrats worked within both the Soviet party-state bureaucracy and international sports organizations to increase Soviet chances of success and make Soviet administrators a respected voice in international sports. Challenging fundamental ideas about how sport should be governed, these communist bureaucrats carved out an unexpected place for themselves and for other representatives of the socialist world. Moreover, the USSR became a driving force behind the evolution of the Olympic Games and changing priorities in Olympic philosophy, spearheading major expansions in membership, sports outreach to the developing world, and women's sports. Capitalizing on shared values between communist and Olympic ideals, Soviet sports representatives helped make spreading peace and friendship through sport a top priority of the Olympic Movement. Back home in the USSR, the activities of sports administrators illuminate how decisions were made within the Soviet party-state. As architects of Soviet initiatives in international sports, sports bureaucrats recommended policy and exerted significant influence within the Soviet Union. Although valued for their expertise on sporting matters, the personal ties they established with international sports leaders, and their knowledge of the internal politics of international sporting federations, their decision-making authority remained circumscribed by the extent to which their proposals found support from top Communist Party leaders. Through a combination of ideological drive, political savvy, and professional pragmatism, Soviet representatives realized Soviet propaganda and foreign policy goals in international sports and cultivated the friendly side of Soviet power during the Cold War. State administrators on all levels displayed activism and ingenuity, but their efforts remained limited by the authoritarian, hierarchical governing style of the top leadership

Prior SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection Is Associated With Coronary Vasomotor Dysfunction as Assessed by Coronary Flow Reserve From Cardiac Positron Emission Tomography

Background Cardiovascular complications from COVID‐19 contribute to its high morbidity and mortality. The effect of COVID‐19 infection on the coronary vasculature is not known. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of coronary vasomotor dysfunction identified by coronary flow reserve from cardiac positron emission tomography in patients with previous COVID‐19 infection. Methods and Results All patients who had polymerase chain reaction–confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection referred for myocardial stress perfusion positron emission tomography imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital from April 2020 to July 2021 were compared with a matched control group without prior SARS‐CoV‐2 infection imaged in the same period. The main outcome was the prevalence of coronary vasomotor dysfunction. Myocardial perfusion and myocardial blood flow reserve were quantified using N13‐ammonia positron emission tomography imaging. Thirty‐four patients with prior COVID‐19 were identified and compared with 103 matched controls. The median time from polymerase chain reaction–confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 to cardiac positron emission tomography was 4.6 months (interquartile range,1.2–5.6 months). There were 16 out of 34 (47%) patients previously hospitalized for COVID‐19 infection. Baseline cardiac risk factors were common, and 18 (53%) patients in the COVID‐19 group had abnormal myocardial perfusion. Myocardial blood flow reserve was abnormal (<2) in 44.0% of the patients with COVID‐19 compared with 11.7% of matched controls (P<0.001). The mean myocardial blood flow reserve was 19.4% lower in patients with COVID‐19 compared with control patients (2.00±0.45 versus 2.48±0.47, P<0.001). Conclusions Myocardial blood flow reserve was impaired in patients with prior COVID‐19 infection compared with cardiovascular risk factor–matched controls, suggesting a relationship between SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and coronary vascular health. These data highlight the need to assess long‐term consequences of COVID‐19 on vascular health in future prospective studies