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Ice hockey professional Janik Möser from the Grizzlys Wolfsburg
fell ill with myocarditis after a mild corona infection.
It was a chance finding when he was about to start training again.
The 25-year-old was very lucky - but it is probably not an isolated case, says Martin Halle, Medical Director of the Institute for Sports Medicine and Sports Cardiology at the Technical University of Munich.
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Halle, so far, the lungs have been the main focus of damage from Corona.
Has the heart been given too little attention?
Martin Halle:
The scientific findings always come only gradually.
But we knew from the start that you have to take care of your heart.
Coronaviruses are like other viruses of the respiratory tract - these are the viruses that otherwise cause the greatest number of heart muscle infections.
But the problem is this: with the lungs, you notice when something is wrong, you cough or have difficulty breathing.
You don't feel the heart.
They do not notice when something is wrong, except for example as a heart stumble.
Especially with younger people, including athletes, this is a great danger.
You don't feel that your heart has a problem and you just keep training.
About the person:
Martin Halle, born in 1962, is the Medical Director of the Center for Prevention and Sports Medicine at the Technical University of Munich.
His research focuses on studies of physical training in the prevention and therapy of cardiovascular diseases.
SPIEGEL:
Do you have this experience more often?
Halle:
We look after more competitive athletes in Munich than anywhere else in Germany.
In the past few months, we have been able to observe that the frequency of corona infections is particularly high in competitive sports.
The athletes drive in groups, live in the boarding school, and train together.
In most cases everything is fine after the corona infection has subsided.
But more and more athletes come to us who say: I had Corona and I haven't gotten on my feet since.
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