Cardiac MRI effective in identifying myocarditis in athletes following COVID-19
Ohio State scientists wanted to ensure that athletes who had been infected with COVID-19 could safely continue their sports. Myocarditis, which can develop with COVID-19 and other viral infections, often is asymptomatic and resolves on its own, but it can become dangerous with more intense physical activity.
Prior to this study led by Ohio State cardiologist Saurabh Rajpal, MD, the most recently published protocols to diagnose myocarditis involved clinical exams, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms and blood tests together to ensure that a diagnosis wasn’t missed. But the research team found that cardiac MRI alone was just as effective and even could detect mild myocarditis that was overlooked by other methods.
