Study: Evidence of different strain of virus affecting heart

Cardiac arrests or heart rhythm disorders in patients in hospital with coronavirus are likely triggered by a severe, systemic form of the disease, research suggests.

Covid-19 patients who were admitted to an intensive care unit were more likely to suffer from the conditions, the study also found.

Researchers say their findings also suggest cardiac arrests and arrhythmias are not the sole consequence of the virus.

Scientists say the findings differ from early reports showing a high incidence of arrhythmias among all Covid-19 patients.

The report’s senior corresponding author, Rajat Deo, is an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

He said: “Our findings suggest that non-cardiac causes such as systemic infection, inflammation and illness are likely to contribute more to the occurrence of cardiac arrest and arrhythmias than damaged or infected heart cells due to the viral infection.”