Exercise Is Good for You, Even if You Have a Mild Case of Covid

Viral infections that cause the flu and colds are the main cause of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Often asymptomatic, this condition can cause chest pain and arrhythmias. This makes it difficult to measure its prevalence. According to some estimates, 1% to 5% of all people with acute viral infections can develop myocarditis.

However, sudden death from myocarditis during physical activity seems rare. A study from 1980 to 2006 recorded the sudden death of 41 young athletes (under 40 years) associated with myocarditis. This is one tenth of the deaths from blunt trauma.

Some experts were afraid that Covid-19 would increase the heart risk of young and healthy people. An early study of a pandemic in Germany reported signs of myocarditis in 60% of Covid-19 patients, including those with relatively mild illness. However, criticisms of study design and data errors have prompted more research, and recent studies are largely reassuring.

In one study, 789 previously infected professional athletes (soccer, baseball, basketball, football, hockey) underwent heart tests, most of whom had mild or no Covid symptoms. Consistent with other viral infection estimates, only 5 (0.6%) were inflamed by cardiac imaging, all of which had “mild COVID-19” such as cough, malaise, and ageusia. There was a symptom of “beyond the empirical definition of infectious disease” taste.

In another study, only 0.7% of the 3,018 college athletes who tested positive for Covid showed abnormal heart test results, and researchers believe they are undoubtedly or probably related to the virus. I was there. (Very healthy athletes are known to have “modified” hearts that can cause abnormal findings on heart tests, so cardiologists ask whether the abnormality is due to the virus. Is difficult to judge.)

In a third study of 3,597 college athletes who tested positive for symptoms ranging from asymptomatic to chest pain and short width, only 1.2% experienced symptoms that lasted more than 3 weeks. Only 4% experienced heart or lung-related symptoms when returning to exercise. Still, the vast majority of people who have undergone more testing show no evidence of heart damage from Covid-19 and experience fatigue and shortness of breath when returning to exercise after a cold-like illness. It is normal.

Studies on young athletic athletes are easier to carry out than the general public and may not be 100% applicable to recreational athletes. Still, they show that healthy and healthy people who would otherwise catch Covid are less likely to suffer from heart complications.

A recent study of health care workers in the United Kingdom found that people with mild or no symptoms of Covid were less likely to develop heart problems on a 6-month post-infection test than those without infection. I did. “This study shows that measured cardiovascular abnormalities are common in healthy people, but not in those who had mild SARS-CoV-2 6 months ago. It’s not as common as it is, “the researchers found.

The recommendation of a 7-10 day rest seems to be as arbitrary as a social distance of 6 feet from the beginning of the pandemic. Most people who don’t know they have Covid don’t follow it anyway.

“There are few high-quality data on resumption of exercise after Covid,” UCLA cardiologist Gabriel Vorobiof said in an email. “At some point, there was a great deal of controversy when several cardiac MRI papers showed potential problems with post-Covid cardiac findings.” However, the study included a control group for comparison. “The findings were later dismissed as relevant and not necessarily the causative link,” he said, because they didn’t (such as athletes and young people without Covid who had an MRI).

He adds: “I saw quite a few young athletes who needed” heart clearance “by a sports club after experiencing a simple Covid before rejoining each sport. Many were non-competitive. Like many things in this pandemic, the need to get rid of young people after asymptomatic viral illness seems to be an overreaction based on little, if any, science. “

Doctors generally advise people with a cold head to exercise, but you should listen to their bodies. This seems like wise advice for otherwise healthy people who have a mild Covid. “But if you experience chest pain, discomfort, lightheadedness, or palpitations, you need to stop and see a doctor,” says Dr. Vorobiof.

Exercise has been shown to protect people from other viral infections such as influenza, herpes, Epstein bar, and colds, and improve the immune response to vaccination. Each training mobilizes billions of immune cells, especially T cells that circulate, identify, and kill virus-infected cells. Exercise also lowers the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which damages white blood cells and increases inflammation.

There is no reason why they shouldn’t work with Covid either, as people learn to live with Covid.

Finley is a member of the Journal’s editorial board.