COVID-19 Can Kill Heart Cells and Interfere With Contraction
Study reveals details of how coronavirus infects the heart and heart damages cardio myocytes
A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis provides evidence that the coronavirus can invade and replicate inside heart muscle cells, causing cell death and interfering with heart muscle contraction. The image of engineered heart tissue shows human heart muscle cells (red) infected with COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) (green). Image by Lina Greenberg.
March 12, 2021 — Since early in the pandemic, COVID-19 has been associated with heart problems, including reduced ability to pump blood and abnormal heart rhythms. But it has been an open question whether these problems are caused by the virus infecting the heart, or an inflammatory response to viral infection elsewhere in the body. Such details have implications for understanding how best to treat coronavirus infections that affect the heart. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis provides evidence that COVID-19 patients’ heart damage is caused by the virus invading and replicating inside heart muscle cells, leading to cell death and interfering with heart muscle contraction.