Scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that heart damage in patients with COVID-19 is caused by the penetration of the coronavirus and its reproduction in the cells of the heart muscle. This leads to cell death and disrupts the contraction function. This is reported in an article published in the journal JACC: Basic to Translational Science. The research is summarized in a press release on MedicalXpress.
Researchers have used stem cells to create tissue that simulates the contraction of human heart tissue. It turned out that the viral infection not only kills the heart muscle cells, but also destroys individual muscle fibers responsible for the contraction of the heart muscle. This damage occurs even in the absence of inflammation.
Other viral infections also damage the heart, but they do so by over-activating immune cells such as T and B cells. The new coronavirus disrupts the proper function of macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells.
According to scientists, even young people who have had a mild form of COVID-19 may develop heart problems in the future, which makes the coronavirus especially insidious. Athletes who were allowed to return to training were later observed to develop scarring. Until now, it was not known whether this is due to direct exposure to infection or systemic inflammation.