Researchers have found yet another COVID-19 complication on the heart and this time in young athletes who were tested positive for the virus.
Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, has been diagnosed in approximately one-third of Big Ten athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, director of athletic medicine at Penn State.
Earlier this week, he said, “When we looked at our COVID-positive athletes, whether they were symptomatic or not, 30 to roughly 35 percent of their heart muscles (are) inflamed.”
The inflammation of the heart muscles was revealed during cardiac MRI scans, prompting officials of the Pac-12 and Big Ten to call off fall sports.
This is not the first time young athletes have been diagnosed with myocarditis due to COVID-19, which can be life-threatening if left untreated.
Eduardo Rodriguez, 27, Boston Red Sox pitcher, tested positive for the COVID-19 in July. He later returned to preseason camp for a week but he has now been shut down for the season after his MRI scan revealed myocarditis.
Does COVID-19 cause myocarditis? Chinese researchers have said they are not sure yet. However, one study has shown that “myocardial injury is common in patients with COVID-19,” accounting for 7 to 23 percent of cases in Wuhan, China. However, the study researchers said the data is spotty.
Cardiologist Dr. Haider Warraich wrote in a New York Times opinion piece that it is not clear whether the new coronavirus is directly causing the inflammation of the heart muscle or whether it is one of the side effects of the immune reaction.
A German study looked at 100 people who were tested positive for COVID-19. It was found that 80 percent of them had lingering heart issues two months after the diagnosis, with 60 percent of them having myocarditis.
Citing the finding of the German study, Dr. Warraich noted that this research “makes clear that in young patients who had seemingly overcome SARS-CoV-2 it’s fairly common for the heart to be affected. We may be seeing only the beginning of the damage.”
If left untreated, myocarditis could lead to heart attack, heart failure, cardiac arrest, or stroke. And myocarditis related to COVID-19 can potentially be fatal.
The signs and symptoms of myocarditis include chest pain or breathlessness. In severe cases, patients might experience heart rhythm issues like arrhythmia, fluid retention in the lower body (edema), fatigue, and other symptoms.
Dr. Sebastianelli explained, “You could have a very high-level athlete who’s got a very superior VO2 max and cardiac output, who gets infected with COVID and can drop his or her VO2 max and cardiac output just by 10 percent, and that could make them go from elite status to average status.”
“We don’t know that,” he added. “We don’t know how long that’s going to last. What we have seen is when people have been studied with cardiac MRI scans — symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID infections — is a level of inflammation in cardiac muscle that just is alarming,”
While some of it could be related to the lungs, Dr. Sebastianelli noted that across the Big Ten, “some of the athletes affected haven’t really recovered their full pulmonary function.”
“They just don’t train as hard as they normally can,” he added. “Their tolerance has decreased . . . it’s just another variable that we’re concerned about.” The article originally appeared on Pop Sugar.
