50% of COVID-19 Disease Patients May Have Weaken Hearts

The newly identified COVID-19 disease was initially classified as respiratory disease, but scientists now appreciate that it also affects other organs in the body, including the heart. Even patients who experience mild COVID-19 symptoms exhibit signs of cardiac dysfunction several months after recovery, said scientists from Gladstone Institutes on August 25, 2020.

A new study by these scientists helps explain how SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, inflicts damage on heart cells. The team’s non-peer-reviewed findings, shared publicly on bioRxiv, show the virus’s unexpected effects on the structure of heart cells in the lab, as well as in heart tissue from COVID-19 patients.

This study found 'infection of human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes with SARS-CoV-2 revealed robust transcriptomic and morphological signatures of damage in cardiomyocytes. These morphological signatures include a distinct pattern of sarcomere fragmentation, with specific cleavage of thick filaments, and numerous iPSC-cardiomyocytes that lacked nuclear DNA.'