Posted on 08/17/2020 1:50:00 PM PDT by buckalfa
There is a rising concern that athletes who become infected with the new coronavirus may suffer from long-term cardiac issues, and sports organizations are responding with required heart screenings, USA Today reports.
Recent research has shown that COVID-19 infections may cause inflammation in the heart for months. A study published in JAMA Cardiology at the end of June examined cardiac magnetic resonance images from 100 COVID-19 patients in Germany. Seventy-eight of the patients had abnormal cardiac MRIs, and 60 showed signs of ongoing myocardial inflammation.
At an Aug. 13 media briefing, Brian Hainline, MD, CMO of the NCAA, said that of the athletes at NCAA institutions who have tested positive for COVID-19, at least 12 were later found to have myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Eduardo Rodriguez, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, developed myocarditis after contracting COVID-19 earlier this year. He will not pitch in the 2020 baseball season.
"We know that if you exercise when you have active inflammation or a cardiac injury, that is a known cause of sudden death; we have to screen for this," Matthew Martinez, MD, consulting cardiologist for the NBA Players Association, told USA Today.
Thus, health experts are urging cardiac screenings for athletes who contract COVID-19. Both the NBA and NFL now require a cardiac screening for all players who have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The NHL has implemented heart-related measures in its protocols governing athletes returning to play. These include requiring athletes to undergo an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram and a high-sensitivity test for troponins.
Major League Baseball says that a cardiac evaluation can be conducted "at the discretion of the team physician" for coronavirus-positive athletes.
This is likely less about health than liability.
WuFlu’s just the excuse.
I do believe they can rule this out with an echocardiogram, which is much easier/cheaper than an MRI.
Power 5 schools can pay to have a cardiologist come out to the stadium and do the testing. The smaller schools? Not so much.
Does an echocardiogram cost $210 or $1,830? UnitedHealth ...www.healthcaredive.com › news › does-an-echocardio...
May 24, 2019 - The company analyzed spending on 12.5 million diagnostics tests for its ... found the price paid for an echocardiogram varied from $210 to $1,830. ... were 33% below the national average in 2016, and highest in Anchorage, .
Go back to med school.
Echo can show an impaired contractility or reduced ejection fraction.
MRI is MUCH more sensitive to inflammation.
Why not let the cardiologists sort this out.
I’m calling official bullshit. There were tens of thousands of high school athletes that competed in states that were not closed down. College and NBA players were playing for several weeks before the shutdown when China virus was going around and nobody knew what it was. I had it in February and know that it was going around in my area since December. Where are the deaths among the athletes?
From Up To Date:
(All contributors for the below are cardiologists)
Cardiac imaging:
•An echocardiogram is performed in all patients with suspected myocarditis to evaluate regional and global ventricular function, valvular function, and other potential causes of cardiac dysfunction.
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Maybe you need to read up a bit.
ALL LIES, ALL FEAR PROPAGANDA.
More propaganda.
They the causality backwards.
COVID-19 doesn’t cause heart conditions. It’s the other way around. Heart conditions are known to make people more susceptible to COVID-19.
If you test people who have recovered from the virus, they will have greater frequencies of heart conditions, diabetes, and kidney problems.
That particular condition with inflammation of the heart can be caused by a lot of things, including mononucleosis and the common cold. a lot of people have it and it was probably a pre-existing condition before those athletes got tested.
A word to the wise:
A close relative tragically died this way as a young adult after a short run taken for regular exercise months after an unusually long-lasting chest cold had subsided. Outwardly perfectly healthy, felt perfectly fine, hence the lack of hesitation in taking a run. But the damage had already been done due to what was later suspected to be an opportunistic migration of a viral or bacterial infection from the lungs to the muscle tissue of the heart.
Coroner said a simple electrocardiogram or ECG would certainly have detected and definitively alarmed for electrical anomalies indicative of myocardial infarctions (scar tissue formed by the death of small patches of heart muscle tissue) later found scattered across the surface of the heart. The underlying problem is with proper conduction of pacing electrical current from node to node to node across the surface of the heart, from top to middle to bottom on each side of the heart in turn, first triggering the contraction of that side’s auricle (A), then that of the corresponding ventricle (V), with exactly the right rhythm and the necessary spacing in time. But scar tissue is dead, and cannot conduct electricity. So, when pulses of electrical current encounter patches of scar tissue, they tend to be dangerously blocked or scattered. This can potentially send the heart into arrhythmia or even into global fibrillation—i.e., a heart attack, which in a young and otherwise healthy heart can be massive, and easily fatal, particularly if defibrillating equipment or a crash cart is not near at hand. Had an electrocardiogram or ECG been performed during life, the name of the close relative would have immediately been placed at the top of the list for a heart transplant and fatal tragedy likely averted. But none of this was known at the time.
Are not electrocardiograms or ECGs cheaper to perform than echocardiograms? If so, it may be a cost-effective way to screen young athletes during or in the wake of the current pandemic.
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Does Myocarditis Show On ECG?
www.epainassist.com
Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the middle layer of the heart muscle that encloses the heart. It can develop at any age. It is a benign disease that usually does not cause serious complications. But, it is the third leading cause of sudden death in young patients. It develops when an infection reaches the heart or an inflammatory reaction happens in the body due to autoimmunity, certain chemicals, medicines or illegal drugs or radiation therapy. It can be detected by chest X-rays, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, MRI scan, blood tests, and myocardial biopsy.
Does Myocarditis Show On ECG?
Myocarditis can be detected by chest X rays, echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), electrocardiogram, blood tests, MRI scan, and myocardial biopsy. Blood tests are done to find out infections in the body. Chest X-rays are non-specific and do not always detect the condition. MRI scan is also useful for detection of the inflamed heart muscle.
Role Of ECG In Myocarditis
The electrocardiogram is a non-invasive test that detects the abnormal electrical conductivity of the heart. ECG is performed to assess the function of the heart. 12 lead electrocardiogram placed on different areas on the body is connected to an ECG machine and computer. The computer interprets the ECG. It is not always perfect and accurate. The patients have to hold still for 5 to 10 seconds to fetch accurate results through ECG.
ECG is usually done when a patient complains of lightheadedness, palpitations, abnormal heart rate, chest pain and shortness of breath. It usually shows normal waves initially even if there is the presence of any heart disease. Serial ECGs are done to find out the ailments of the heart.
In Myocarditis, ECG is an asset to find out abnormal heart rhythms. In mild cases, it may not show any deviation of waves. In such cases, ECG and echocardiogram are both normal. In such cases, it is advisable to avoid exercises and sports.
In most cases of Myocarditis, ECG can detect abnormal electric conductions of the heart. The abnormal changes shown in ECG that indicates Myocarditis are deviations in ST and T wave. It shows QRS or QT prolongation. T wave is diffused or inversed. It also shows low amplitude QRS complexes. These changes are non-specific. It also shows ventricular arrhythmias and defects in the AV conduction. In certain cases, inflammation of adjacent pericardium is also detected. This condition is also known as pericarditis. (1) (2)
Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the middle layers of the heart muscle that envelope the heart. This disease affects the ability of the heart to pump out blood to the rest of the body. The people who develop Myocarditis are usually healthy and sometimes without the symptoms of the disease. They do not notice the disease and get recover by them. It does not cause immediate life-threatening events but it may cause serious consequences in certain cases.
Myocarditis is often associated with pericarditis (the inflammation of all the three layers of heart muscles that surround the heart). It is usually a benign condition that does not cause serious long term adverse effects on the heart. In a few cases, it may cause cardiac failure, cardiac arrest, and even sudden death. (3)
Myocarditis is caused by infections (virus, bacteria, fungi, and parasites), autoimmune reactions, and exposure to certain chemicals, radiation, medicines like penicillin, diuretic drugs and illegal drugs such as cocaine.
Most patients of Myocarditis do not feel any symptom as most cases are mild in nature. Few patients experience symptoms similar to flu. He may have a feverish feeling, generalized pains, chest pain, and breathlessness.
Myocarditis causes inflammatory changes in the heart that can be detected in the electrocardiogram (ECG). It detects abnormal changes in the ST and T waves. It also shows that QRS and QT segments are elongated. Thus, it finds out abnormal arrhythmias and other defects in the conduction system of the heart.
References
1. https://litfl.com/myocarditis-ecg-library/
2. https://www.healthtap.com/user_questions/987802-does-a-heart-infection-like-myocarditis-show-up-on-ecg-or-echo
3. https://www.emedicinehealth.com/electrocardiogram_ecg/article_em.htm#reasons_for_an_ecg
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