But according to a review published in March 2020 in JAMA Cardiology, even among people with no heart problems, COVID-19 can cause heart damage that can be fatal. “It is likely that even in the absence of previous heart disease, the heart muscle can be affected by coronavirus disease,” said Mohammad Madjid, MD, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of cardiology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston, in a press release. “Overall, injury to heart muscle can happen in any patient with or without heart disease, but the risk is higher in those who already have heart disease.” Currently, the rate of fatality for people with heart disease is 10.5 percent, according to a bulletin released by the American College of Cardiology (ACC). For the review, researchers examined previous coronaviruses, including SARS and MERS, and found those viruses affected the heart muscle, causing acute myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle. “The body’s immune response to viruses can cause fever, muscles and joints to hurt, and, sometimes, inflammation of the heart muscle,” says Eduardo Sanchez, MD, chief medical officer for prevention for the American Heart Association. “This can cause the heart to weaken, resulting in heart failure and causing irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.” In a case report published in the same issue of JAMA Cardiology, for example, a 53-year-old woman with no history of heart disease developed symptoms of heart failure a week after she experienced flu-like symptoms and a dry cough — common symptoms of COVID-19. Doctors in Italy who consulted on the case, surmised the patient’s heart problem was a result of her body’s immune system fighting the virus. Dr. Sanchez notes the report is a cautionary tale that shows that even the healthiest of us could be at risk. “While a less severe course of COVID-19 is likely among young, healthy persons, there is a risk of a severe case for everyone, very low (but not zero) for some, and higher for others,” he explains. “For persons 65 and older and for persons with underlying heart disease (which included hypertension in China), things can go in a much more challenging direction because of a higher risk of severe COVID-19.” “If you have a medical condition, make sure you have a 30-day supply of your medication and you know how to contact your doctor if you need to contact them right away,” he says. Sanchez also recommends keeping your doctor’s phone numbers nearby and making sure friends and family have that contact information, too. “All we can do is control the controllables,” he says. “We each can do this by hand-washing, surface cleaning, social-distancing, and staying away from people who seem to be sick.”
