COVID-19, Kills Heart Cells and Interferes
With Contractions, Study Says.
Since early on, COVID-19 has been
associated with abnormal heart rhythms and
a reduced ability to pump blood. .
It has been unclear whether these problems are caused
by the virus directly infecting the heart or by an inflammatory response to the virus elsewhere in the body. .
A new study from Washington University School of
Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, has discovered more about
COVID-19’s effect on the heart. .
The study found evidence that damage
is being caused by the virus invading and
replicating inside heart muscle cells.
This ultimately leads to cell death and
interference with heart muscle contraction. .
Our study is unique because it definitively
shows that, in patients with COVID-19 who
developed heart failure, the virus infects the
heart, specifically heart muscle cells, Senior Author Kory J. Lavine, via Medical Xpress.
The study also found that heart damage can
occur even in the absence of inflammation,
as it is “not the initial cause of the heart injury.” .
COVID-19 is causing a different immune response
in the heart compared with other viruses, and
we don't know what that means yet … the
immune cells we see in COVID-19 heart patients
tend to be associated with a chronic condition
that can have long-term consequences, Senior Author Kory J. Lavine, via Medical Xpress