Lingering cardiac involvement in previously well people after mild COVID-19

Nature Medicine – Lingering cardiac symptoms, including exercise intolerance, tachycardia and chest pain, are increasingly recognized as post-acute COVID-19 sequelae¹. In patients with a severe course of initial illness, accrued cardiac injury and pre-existing conditions readily explain cardiac symptoms. However, signs of cardiac injury such as elevated troponin levels and structural heart disease are rare in previously well people with mild initial illness, despite often profound cardiac symptoms. Previous studies in populations of mainly young, athletic people have shown subtle non-ischemic cardiac inflammatory changes shortly after initial COVID-19 illness. However, it remains unclear whether these early observations are related to symptoms or persist with time.