75% of Recovered COVID-19 Patients Experience Heart Inflammation Months After the Illness, Research Finds
Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez recently confirmed he would not be starting a new season for MLB yet, as he was dealing with ‘myocarditis,’ a heart inflammation which the first study found, in the months following his COVID-19 illness.
More than half a year into this global health crisis, health and science experts are learning more about COVID-19 that was originally believed just to be any common respiratory disease.
As the months pass, it has become more evident that the pandemic hits far more than just the lungs and a new study specifies that it can leave long-term impairment, even in previously healthy individuals who have recovered from preliminary symptoms.
Specifically, a pair of new studies done in Germany observed the impacts of COVID-19 in the heart. One of these studies focus on in people who had recovered, and the other, on older adults or seniors who were victims of the said infectious disease.
The First Research
The first research which an online journal recently published found that about three-quarters of patients who recovered from COVID-19 "were left with structural changes to their hearts" even if two months had already passed since they had the illness.
In this study, the researchers reportedly studied "cardiac MRIs" from 100 COVID-19 aged 45 to 53 years old, who had recovered from the illness.
The said researchers compared their observation to MRIs of similar individuals who did not get infected with the virus.
The same study also found that majority of the COVID-19 patients recovered at home. Meanwhile, 33 of them required hospital confinement at some point of their sickness.
From a total of 100 patients, 78 reportedly had "physical changes to their hearts." More so, within the said group, 76 patients had biomarkers, usually found in individuals who suffered a heart attack.
Meanwhile, according to researchers, 60 patients had an inflammation, also known as "myocarditis." All of them were found to be mostly healthy before their COVID-19 infection.
The patients and the researchers themselves were surprised by the strength and predominance of the study findings, and that they were still very prominent. However, the original disease had been, by then, according to Dr. Valentina Puntmann, a study co-author, "a few weeks away."
DON'T MISS THIS: Britain Wins Rare Compliment for Its Leadership in the Race for Life-Saving COVID-19 Drug Test
The Second Research
The second research the same online journal published studied the autopsy reports from 39 patients aged 78 to 89 years old. These same patients died at the onset of the pandemic.
Consequently, the researchers found that COVID-19 had infested "the heart in 41 percent of the patients.
Dirk Westermann, a study co-author and cardiologist said, they discovered indications "of viral duplication" in patients who are heavily infected.
The cardiologist added, "I know from other diseases that it is evident, not good to have that" amplified level of infection.
Eduardo Rodriguez's Post-COVID-19 Experience
Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, on Sunday, confirmed he would not be starting a new season for MLB yet as he was dealing with "myocarditis," a heart inflammation which the first study found, in the months following his COVID-19 illness.
At present, Rodriguez awaits further MRI results to find out if he can already play. The sports personality said, "It has been weird."
First, he continued, he got COVID-19 and felt all the symptoms, then, at some point, he thought that was how bad it was, "the first four days of his illness."
And now that he has the said heart inflammation, Rodriguez still hoped to be ready and play for the season as fast as he could.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS: Tricare Issues an Apology Statement After Telling 600k Beneficiaries They've Had COVID-19
Jul 29, 2020 06:00 AM EDT
