Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2025
Author Spotlight: Simulating Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Using a Neonatal Piglet Model
Published on: May 26, 2023
Cardiac effects of COVID-19 infection in children
Berkan Arısüt1, Akif Kavgacı2, Deniz Gezgin Yıldırım3
1Pediatrics, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
COVID-19 significantly impacts children's hearts, with elevated cardiac enzymes like hs-Troponin T indicating involvement. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children often presents with more severe cardiac issues and longer PR intervals.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- COVID-19 infection is linked to poor outcomes and high mortality due to cardiac complications.
- Evaluating cardiac effects in pediatric COVID-19 patients is crucial for prognosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess cardiac effects of COVID-19 in pediatric patients.
- To correlate clinical and laboratory data with the extent of cardiac involvement.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 64 pediatric COVID-19 inpatients.
- Classification based on electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, and cardiac enzyme levels.
- Subgroup analysis for cardiac involvement and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Main Results:
- Patients with cardiac involvement showed higher hs-Troponin T, Pro-BNP, and D-dimer levels.
- MIS-C patients had longer PR intervals and higher rates of pathological valve insufficiencies (68.1%) vs. 14.2%.
- hs-Troponin T emerged as the strongest predictive biomarker for cardiac involvement.
Conclusions:
- hs-Troponin T is a key biomarker for pediatric COVID-19 cardiac involvement.
- ECG abnormalities can indicate cardiac involvement even without other symptoms.
- MIS-C is associated with increased myocardial dysfunction and pathological echocardiogram findings in pediatric COVID-19.
Background:
It is known established that the cardiac effects of COVID-19 infection are associated with poor prognosis and high mortality rates in infected patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac effects of COVID-19 infection in paediatric patients and identify the correlations between clinical and laboratory data and the degree of cardiac involvement.
Materials And Methods:
A retrospective data analysis was conducted on 64 paediatric patients at Gazi University Department of Pediatrics who were treated as inpatients with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients were classified as "COVID-19-related cardiac involvement cases" if their electrocardiogram and echocardiogram results indicated a pathology and/or if their laboratory data indicated increased cardiac enzymes. All patients were divided into subgroups based on whether they had cardiac involvement and whether they were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
Results:
In comparison to patients who did not have cardiac involvement, those with cardiac involvement had significantly higher levels of hs-Troponin T, Pro-BNP, and D-dimer. Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had significantly longer PR intervals than those without multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (p = 0.0001). Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had a significantly higher rate of pathological valve insufficiencies (68.1%) than those without multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (14.2%) (p = 0.001).
Conclusion:
In our study, the strongest predictive biomarker of cardiac involvement in paediatric patients with COVID-19 infection was determined to be hs-Troponin T. It was observed that pathologic electrocardiogram changes could reflect cardiac involvement in the absence of any other signs. Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children exhibited significantly greater rates of pathologic echocardiogram findings and myocardial dysfunction than those without multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. In all patients, pathologic electrocardiogram and echocardiogram findings were found to be strongly associated with the severity of inflammation.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Cardiac Output I:Effect of Heart Rate on Cardiac Output
Cardiac output (CO) refers to the total amount of blood ejected by one of the ventricles in liters per minute (L/min). In a resting adult, CO ranges from 5 to 6 L/min, adjusting according to the body's metabolic requirements.
Effect of Heart Rate on Cardiac Output
Cardiac output adapts to metabolic demands during stress, physical activity, or illness. The autonomic nervous system regulates heart rate via the sinoatrial node. The parasympathetic nervous system decreases heart...
01:26Heart Failure Drugs: Inotropic Agents
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System III: X-Ray
Definition and Purpose
An X-ray, or radiograph, is a non-invasive method that uses ionizing radiation to take images of internal structures. It is mainly used in cardiac imaging to examine the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels, aiming to identify abnormalities in the heart's size, shape, and position, such as heart failure, congenital defects, and vascular...
01:26Imbalances in Cardiac Output
CHF can occur due to the failure of either side of the heart. Left-side failure leads to pulmonary congestion—the right side continues to send...
01:28Mechanism of Cardiac Arrhythmias
01:29Pathophysiology of Cardiac Performance