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.
“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.
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.