The new coronavirus can infect the heart and multiply in heart cells, according to a study by researchers at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany), published on Friday.
However, the results do not tell whether the virus develops differently in patients who already have heart conditions. According to the study, to be published in the scientific journal JAMA Cardiology, the SARS-CoV-2 virus can affect heart cells and alter their gene expression. These changes can have long-term consequences on the health of patients, according to the authors, who therefore recommend screening people who have recovered.
To arrive at these results, the researchers examined the bodies of 39 patients with heart problems and died from Covid-19. They were on average 85 years old.
In two thirds of them, the virus was present in heart tissue. And for 16 of them, the concentrations of viral particles were high enough to cause a clinical effect.
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