COVID-19 treatment outcome can be predicted by heart condition, scientists claim

Coronavirus attacks not only the lungs but also the heart. And it is precisely the negative effect produced on the heart that can determine the risk of death.

Researchers at Mt Sinai University Icahn School of Medicine in NY followed the conditions of 110 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and their prior medical records, Daily Mail reported.

And almost 62% of patients who had an enlarged right chamber eventually died.

Data from China says that 19% of COVID-19 patients had heart problems. Many doctors prescribe blood thinners to patients with COVID-19 infection, fearing the formation of deadly blood clots in patients.

In a recent study, it was found that EKGs showed that 31% of patients had an increase in the right ventricle. This deviation may also be due to other problems, including uncontrolled inflammation or the use of blood-thinning drugs.

However, it is not clear why the right chamber suffered more.

"The research team suspects that multiple factors contribute to the development of the enlarged right chamber, including: low oxygen levels that trigger a tightening of blood vessels, direct damage from the virus, damage from inflammatory immune cells called cytokines and blood clots," Daily Mail noted.

It is no secret that coronavirus easily binds to cells that have an ACE2 receptor. Such a receptor is located on the surface of blood vessel cells. 

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter