COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dr. Curt Daniels, cardiologist at The Ohio State University, specializes in adult congenital heart disease, connective tissue disorder, adolescent and young adult cardiology and pulmonary hypertension. He said during a COVID-19 briefing with Gov. Mike DeWine Thursday that myocarditis has been found in 10 to 13% of athletes at the university who had tested positive for COVID-19.
Daniels said that the athletes who have tested for the condition, or inflammation of the heart muscle, were only exhibiting mild COVID-19 symptoms. While symptoms may be mild, Daniels said that it’s important for athletes and those engaged in rigorous activities after having COVID-19 to monitor their symptoms and contact a doctor if any cardiac or viral symptoms emerge.
“The reason why athletic competition in athletes is being mentioned is because we know there’s a risk with athletic competition with myocarditis,” Daniels said. “There are what we call 'sudden cardiac death registries' in athletes that have been well established that have shown that one of the causes is myocarditis. And this is old information that continues to evolve,—outside of coronavirus.
“So we know that being an athlete and having high intense competition and training probably induces a higher level of arrhythmia burden, that the exciting of the heart, the stressing of the heart, and if the heart is vulnerable with inflammation, then there’s a risk of a dangerous heart rhythm problem,” Daniels said.
The key for athletes who test positive is rest—taking it easy until viral symptoms are gone. The doctor said that a heart evaluation might be required in some cases to determine if any signs of myocarditis are presenting themselves.
Exercise and activity should be reintroduced gradually to ensure the safety of the athlete.
Myocarditis can affect a small part of the heart or a large enough part of the heart that a potential for heart failure is there, so monitoring symptoms is important.
The heart condition goes beyond college athletes. Inflammation has been noted in children and teens who tested positive for COVID-19.
John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, said that multi-system inflammatory syndrome has been noted in children who tested positive for COVID-19. Inflammation of the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, and heart have been found in children with the virus.
The impact COVID-19 has on young adults, teens and children are still being discovered and the uncertainty surrounding the virus’ long term effects is a contributor to the difficulty of outlining a plan for high school fall sports in Ohio.
“There is emerging data and we’re trying to analyze that data and trying to better understand it, but we certainly don’t know the impact out in the community and when people have less symptoms and are less affected by coronavirus,” Daniels said.
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