INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – To date, nearly 4.5 million people in the US have been diagnosed with coronavirus. At first, doctors hoped that the virus would only cause damage in the short term and a full recovery was possible.
But new research suggests otherwise, and evidence is mounting that COVID-19 may have permanent consequences.
In a study published online Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Cardiology, doctors followed 100 German patients who recovered from the coronavirus between April and June 2020. The goal was to determine if there were any persistent effects, specifically in the heart.
The doctors took blood samples and all the patients underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). The test results were compared with 50 healthy people who acted as a control group.
The study results showed significantly higher levels of highly sensitive troponin T, a blood marker used to diagnose heart damage, in 71 of the previously diagnosed patients compared to the control group. The results of the CMR tests showed a significant decrease in the heart’s ability to pump blood in 78 patients. Furthermore, the patients showed an enlarged left ventricle, which is a predictor of heart attacks.
There were also elevated levels of four other biomarkers: native myocardial T1 in 73% of people and native myocardial T2 in 60%. 32% of the patients presented late myocardial enhancement, while 22% showed pericardial enhancement. All four blood markers are indicative of swelling, inflammation, and scarring of heart tissue.
All patients had no history of heart disease prior to their coronavirus infection, which, according to the authors, indicates the need for continued investigation of the long-term cardiovascular consequences associated with COVID-19.
News 8 medical reporter Dr. Mary Elizabeth Gillis, D.Ed., is a biologically classical medical physiologist and behavioral science researcher. She has been a health, medicine and science reporter for more than five years. Her work has been featured in the national media.
