Covid-19 can cause heart damage and failure in children, warn doctors

A team of doctors from the US has cautioned that Covid-19 can lead to serious heart damage or failure in children. This comes after a two-month-old Covid-19 positive infant was hospitalised after demonstrating cardio-vascular symptoms similar to those seen in adults.

According to the Forbes report, the infant was hospitalised after choking and turning blue while eating. He was tested positive for Covid-19 but did not show typical coronavirus symptoms such as cough or fever.

The doctors diagnosed the infant and revealed that Covid-19 damaged the heart. Subsequently, the infant was shifted to ICU.

Eventually, the child recovered and regained normal heart function and did not require heart failure medications, the doctors wrote in the case analysis published in the journal JACC.

The lead author of the analysis, Dr Madhu Sharma said this type of reversible heart injury is similar to the heart-related issues that some adults with Covid-19 experience.

Sharma referred to four specific case reports of adults suffering acute heart problems, early studies suggest that between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of adults with Covid-19 may have heart issues.

Sharma recommended “testing for Covid-19 in children presenting with signs and symptoms of heart failure” while “we learn more about the impact of this virus.”

"Most children with Covid-19 are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, but our case shows the potential for reversible myocardial (heart) injury in infants,” Sharma said. She further stressed the need for better Covid-19 testing in children displaying symptoms.