Claims that COVID-19 results in high rates of myocarditis have been quickly clarified by a US doctor after triggering a wave of both concern and scepticism from other clinicians.
The assertion was made by Penn State university sports physician Dr Wayne Sebastianelli, who told a media outlet that myocarditis had been seen on MRI scans of 30-35% of university athletes who tested positive for COVID-19.
The claim was shared on social media by high profile physicians, with many saying it confirmed other reports of the long term adverse inflammatory effects of COVID-19 infection on organ systems beyond the respiratory tract.
Cardiologist Dr Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the finding was the latest in a growing body of evidence that COVID-19 is a “heart virus” causing a distinctive pattern of cardiac abnormalities.
Today we learned ~1/3 Big Ten athletes who were #COVID19 + had abnormal heart MRIs, consistent w/ myocarditis, even those without symptoms. If anyone still is questioning whether this virus attacks the heart, it’s denialism. https://t.co/8qGJDhjlpk
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) September 3, 2020
He pointed to previous reports of cardiac abnormalities in young athletes with COVID-19 and a paper in the European Heart Journal that reported cardiac abnormalities in about half of patients with COVID-19 undergoing echocardiography.
A German report, published in JAMA Cardiology, found cardiac involvement in 78% of COVID-19 patients and ongoing myocardial inflammation in 60%, independent of preexisting conditions, severity and overall course of the acute illness,
But the claims were also met with strong criticism from other cardiologists who described them as “implausible” and said there was little data to support a unique cardiac impact of the COVID-19 virus.
The online discussion quickly descended into counter-accusations of ‘alarmism’ vs ‘denialism’ over the cardiac effects of COVID-19
Unfortunately, it is deja vu all over again. I last tossed down the physician’s RED FLAG & cried FOUL on this #COVID19 #myocarditis issue on August 11th and now forced to do it again. There is no way that 30-35% of #Athletes with COVID19 have myocarditis.