Heart problems after infection: That is behind the concern of many professional athletes

In professional football, there was talk of lung problems in connection with the corona virus. Now you hear more about heart problems. Why is that? How dangerous can a corona infection be and what consequences can vaccination have?

Bayern Davies with heart problems

Julian Nagelsmann found it “modest to crappy to extremely crappy”. What annoyed the Bayern Munich coach so much? The illness of his left-back Alphonso Davies. In mid-January, signs of mild myocarditis were found in the young Canadian after a corona infection.

“You don’t know exactly where it comes from. Unfortunately, there is no label,” said Nagelsmann. However, it is likely that the inflammation is due to a corona infection and physical activity.

Davies isn’t the only soccer star to have had a heart problem lately. Former Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent back to Europe after a corona infection from the Africa Cup. Gabon’s association indicated heart problems. However, after his return to Arsenal and an examination in London, Aubameyang wrote that his “heart was absolutely fine”.

FC Bayern: Kimmich had lung problems

Why are we hearing more about heart problems in connection with the corona virus? So far, the focus has been on the lungs – for example with national player Joshua Kimmich. The Bayern professional had lung problems after a corona disease at the end of 2021. Due to slight deposits, he was initially not allowed to put full strain on his body.

“The heart has been an issue more frequently for a few weeks, including among young athletes, because we now have a higher rate of infection with the corona virus and a high rate of new infections. Only because of this and the fact that young people are now more frequently infected is it heart muscle inflammation has become an issue,” explained Munich sports physician and sports cardiologist Florian Straube to the German Press Agency.

“Because the incidence of myocarditis, i.e. the fact that heart muscle inflammation occurs as a result of a corona infection within 28 days after infection, is generally around 40 to a million. That is very low. There is a scientific paper from the USA with 1600 athletes, which came to the conclusion that around two percent of the high-performance athletes who had a corona infection also had heart muscle involvement.

That is significantly higher than was reported for the general population,” said Straube, who advises the German Ice Hockey Federation, among other things. But you have to be careful with these numbers because they are selected top athletes who have certainly been medically examined with a lot of effort be.

Professional athlete at risk for heart problems

How does myocarditis occur? “Inflammation of the heart muscle occurs when heart muscle cells die off in the context of an inflammatory process. A viral infection, independent of the triggering pathogen, is the most common cause,” explained Straube.

Professional athletes are generally at risk for heart problems. You are in contact with other people a lot and are therefore confronted with many viruses, and there is also increased breathing activity. “If athletes also have many competitions in a row, jetlag and hardly any time to regenerate, the immune system is under great strain in this phase. In addition, there is often the competitive pressure, which can lead to mistakenly not taking a break from sports despite the presence of symptoms of illness,” said Straube.

DFB doctor Tim Meyer is also concerned with the topic of myocarditis in connection with vaccination. In spring 2020, with the development of a hygiene concept for the German Football League, the doctor played a key role in the fact that the season in the Bundesliga and 2nd division could still be ended after a break caused by corona.

Heart problems after vaccinations very rare

“Inflammation of the heart muscle is very rare as a side effect of vaccination and it usually seems to be harmless. On the other hand, it occurs much more frequently as a complication of an illness with the corona virus,” said Meyer in an interview with the Bavarian Football Association.

The most important measure for treating heart muscle inflammation is a break so that the body can finish the inflammatory process in peace. Only after that and after thorough tests is it possible for Davies & Co. to return to full sporting ability.

“If myocarditis is temporally related to an acute corona infection, the professional societies and sports associations recommend that you take a break of at least three months. Each case must always be considered individually,” said Straube.

The length of the break also depends on the course of the disease. “If the doctor makes the diagnosis of myocarditis on day X, then you don’t yet know what course the disease will take. In the case of simple asymptomatic courses, you can perhaps deviate from these three months and with a slight one start training again after a month or two,” explained Straube. “It is always important to gradually start again after a sports break.”