Cardiac injury ‘high’ in COVID patients months later, a local study finds

Inflammation and cardiac injury markers were still high in COVID-19 patients five months after contracting the virus, a local study has shown.
Complaints of shortness of breath in COVID-positive patients months later were “not just in the mind”, the University of Malta research, carried out by Rachel Xuereb for her PhD also indicated.
Among the “interesting” findings, which have been accepted at an upcoming Barcelona congress of the European Society of Cardiology, COVID-19 positive patients had a higher white cell count than negative patients, which was indicative of infection and inflammation, said study supervisor and consultant cardiologist Caroline Magri.

They also show higher troponins – markers of heart damage – and lower levels of haemoglobin, indicating “something chronic is going on”, she said.
Besides a higher frequency of shortness of breath, fatigue, aches and pains and a worse score in general well-being, blood investigations showed a high marker of inflammation, known as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, five months after contracting COVID-19, Magri explained.
“We believe this means the body can take time to get rid of the virus and, as yet, we do not know the...