According to a new study published in JAMA Cardiology, of the 5 patients with COVID-19 heart damage in Wuhan, only a few had a history of heart disease, the rest were not. So what is going on?

Cardiologists believe that there are only two possible possibilities to answer this question. Or the heart pumps blood in case the body does not have enough oxygen causing the virus to invade directly into the heart cells; or the body, in an attempt to eradicate the virus, may have mobilized numerous immune cells to attack the heart.

"We know that this is not the only virus that affects the heart," said Dr. Mohammad Madjid at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth).

According to a study published in 2018 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the risk of heart attacks can increase six times when a person is infected with the flu virus.

Moreover, in most flu pandemics, more patients di‌e of heart complications than pneumonia. Viral infections can disrupt blood flow to the heart, causing irregular heart rhythms and heart failure.

Therefore, although not "surprising", the SARS-CoV-2 virus can lead to heart damage and this happens more frequently in COVID-19 patients than those infected with the virus. other.

The virus may be attacking the heart directly. Dr. Erin Michos, deputy director of the Preventive Cardiology Department at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said: "We have seen cases of cardiovascular disease not present. COVID-19 infection is mild and tends to occur in patients with severe symptoms and requiring hospitalization. "

Although the virus mainly affects the lungs, it is circulating in the blood; That means the virus can invade directly and attack other organs, including the heart.