Coronavirus does not cause the typical damage (myocarditis) to the heart muscle, as it is thought, but rather affects the organ in question differently.
According to EurekAlert, a number of examinations conducted by pathologists at LSU University of Health in New Orleans, USA, led to this conclusion.
They found that the coronavirus caused the death of individual cells in the heart muscle.
At the same time, SARS-CoV-2, unlike the first SARS coronavirus, does not occur in heart muscle cells. Experts have found a viral infection in the cells of small blood vessels.
The autopsy was performed on 22 patients aged 44-79 years, 10 men and 12 women, who died of coronavirus. Most of them had high blood pressure, half were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and 41 percent suffered from obesity.
Speaking about the unexpected changes in the bodies of people who died of COVID-19, Professor Richard Vander Hayde put forward several theories that need to be studied. According to him, it can help to better understand the disease and, as a result, prescribe effective treatment.
Researchers at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom have reported that patients with severe COVID-19 may develop myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. This changes the electrical conductivity of the heart and affects the ability to pump blood. As a result, less oxygen is delivered to all organs, including the lungs.