Enlarge image
A woman having an MRI scan of her heart (icon image)
Photo: dpa
Even after a mild course of Covid-19, those affected often complain of heart problems months after the illness.
According to a study by the Frankfurt University Hospital, a subtle myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) could be responsible for this, as the »Deutsches Ärzteblatt« writes.
The journal reports on a study by the University Hospital in Frankfurt, in which 346 people with a mild course of Covid disease took part.
They were examined twice by MRI – once four and once eleven months after the illness.
Although the average age was relatively young at 43.3 years, 252 participants complained of heart problems during the initial examination that were not present before Covid-19.
The most common symptoms were shortness of breath, tachycardia and chest pain.
In most cases, however, the heart symptoms were “mild or moderate”, and only nine patients felt that the symptoms restricted them in their daily lives.
Inconspicuous routine tests - only the cardio MRI shows clues
Routine tests initially provided no explanation for the symptoms, and the laboratory values of the examined were unremarkable.
Only a cardiac MRI offered a possible explanation for the symptoms.
The result of the scans: smaller so-called non-ischemic myocardial scars had formed.
Myocardial scars are generally considered risk factors for sudden cardiac death.
Accordingly, minimal pericardial effusions (pericardium effusions) and signs of inflammation were also recognizable.
For the first author of the study, Valentina Puntmann, these changes match the symptoms of the patients, according to "Ärzteblatt".
In 57 percent of the patients, these symptoms still existed at the second examination after eleven months.
At this point, too, signs of a slight but persistent myocarditis were recognizable.
However, the authors of the study point out that the patients were not representative of post-Covid.
They would have known about the objective of the study, "so that patients with cardiac symptoms were more interested in participating."
svs
