Myocarditis and COVID-19: Where Do We Stand?

Rapidly increasing evidence highlights the fact that COVID-19 is not an isolated disease of the lungs but a multisystem disease with clear evidence of myocardial injury in many COVID-19 patients. It has now been shown that up to 30% of COVID-19 cases are associated with troponin release indicative of myocardial injury. It seems that the more severe the clinical course is, the more common cardiac involvement is. We currently have evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can not only cause acute cardiac complications but also has long-term cardiovascular consequences. However, the mechanism of the myocardial injury is not entirely clear. The development of myocardial damage in COVID-19 likely has an indirect origin and is probably the result of a hyperinflammatory state and endothelitis.