Covid is horrible on the heart.
How does COVID-19 affect a person's heart?
About 20-30% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 show heart problems. These patients tend to have more severe symptoms and worse health outcomes. Their heart issues can be due to direct damage from the virus, resulting in heart inflammation, or the indirect effect of inflammatory proteins (known as cytokines) released in the bloodstream. Heart muscle inflammation (
myocarditis) commonly manifests as
heart failure or through uneven heartbeat (
arrhythmia). Sudden death in COVID-19 patients caused by arrhythmia can be a consequence of these heart problems.
COVID-19 is also associated with the inflammation of the vascular lining and an increased risk for blood clots forming in large blood vessels and small vessels, particularly in the heart and lungs. The inflammation and the blood clots can lead to poor oxygen levels in these critical organs.
The risk of heart attack and stroke is also higher among COVID-19 patients.
Heart inflammation, COVID-19 and the rare side effects of the vaccine