College athletes tested having heart inflammation after COVID-19 disease
Heart inflammation has been registered to affect 15% of college athletes after COVID-19 disease. Coronavirus does not leave traces on weak people’s bodies, but also on the strongest.
Student athletes surviving COVID-19 tested to have heart inflammation. A research conducted by Ohio State University, reported on Friday in a research letter in JAMA Cardiology, demonstrated this. It showed that these college athletes were healthy and yet they showed a sign of heart inflammation of the heart after they recovered from the deadly disease.
Heart inflammation after COVID-19 disease in athletes: the beginning on the study
According on what reported on IbTimes, “The study came about as a number of colleges were gearing towards continuing their seasons, albeit there are those that opted to temporarily pause programs due to the increase in coronavirus cases.”
In order to proceed in the study, they looked at any sign of myocarditis, a type of heart ailment characterised by the inflammation of the heart muscle reduces the ability of the heart to pump. It also causes either abnormal or rapid heart rhythms.
What about the myocarditis after COVID-19 disease?
Myocarditis was said to be caused by an infection. Accordin to the studies, it is regarded as the cause of seven to 20 percent of cardiac arrests in sportspersons. Although these deaths are not common occurrences, the consequences are often tragic.
The link between COVID-19 and heart problems was already identified in the early period of the pandemic. However, doctors saw that most of the cases were those who had chronic conditions, the vulnerable ones, or those hospitalised.
One of the authors of the study, Dr Saurabh Rajpal, and an Ohio State University assistant professor of cardiology, and also a cardiac MRI specialist, revealed that they have already received information about cardiac issues involving hospitalised patients. Regarding athletes who perform high-intensity exercises, Rajpal and colleagues thought about what could be the most ideal test to determine whether athletes suffered from heart inflammation.
Heart inflammation after COVID-19: MRIs in athletes
The IbTimes continues: “The MRIs of athletes that researchers checked were those belonging to basketball, track, football, soccer, and lacrosse. Out of the 26 athletes that they checked, 12 showed mild symptoms and the rest were asymptomatic. The symptomatic ones already recovered when they had the MRI and that was between 11 to 53 days after they confirmed positive for COVID-19.
There were four, roughly 15 percent, who showed signs of inflammation of the heart. The researchers noted that this does not necessarily mean that athletes who recovered from COVID-19 are in danger. Dr Eugene Chung, University of Michigan‘s cardiac electrophysiologist, and who was not part of the Ohio State study, stated that those in the study have already recovered. However, he gave a word of caution to those with MRI findings, saying that he would recommend exercise limitation for up to three months.”
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