When macrophages stop performing their normal functions, they weaken the heart (Shutterstock)

A recent study found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, can damage the heart without directly infecting its tissues.

The study was conducted by researchers led by Dr. Matthias Nehrendorff, from Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, and was published in the journal Circulation, and written about by the Medical Express website.

Scientists have long known that “Covid-19” increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke, and previous imaging research has shown that more than 50% of people who contract “Covid-19” suffer from some inflammation or damage to the heart, and so on. What scientists do not know is whether the damage occurs because the virus infects the heart tissue itself, or because of inflammation resulting from the body's known immune response to the virus.

The researchers studied immune cells known as cardiac macrophages, which normally play a crucial role in maintaining tissue health, but can turn inflammatory in response to injury such as a heart attack or heart failure.

The researchers analyzed heart tissue samples from 21 patients who died of acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with the Coronavirus, and compared them with samples from 33 patients who died of causes not related to Covid.

The researchers found that Corona infection increased the total number of cardiac macrophages, and also caused them to shift from their normal routine to become inflammatory.

When macrophages stop doing their normal functions, which include maintaining the heart's metabolism and removing harmful bacteria or other foreign agents, they weaken the heart, Nehrendorf said.

Nehrendorf added, "What this study shows is that after infection with the Corona virus, the immune system can cause remote damage to other organs by causing serious inflammation throughout the body, and this is in addition to the damage that the virus itself caused directly to the lung tissue."

"These findings can also be applied more generally, as our results suggest that any severe infection can send shock waves through the entire body," Nehrendorff said.

Source: websites