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Oluwatobiloba Jaiyeola
A new study has found that people infected with the monkeypox virus may be at greater risk of cardiovascular complications.
The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology discovered that a 31-year-old man with confirmed monkeypox infection developed acute myocarditis days after presenting symptoms.
Myocarditis, according to Mayo Clinic, is inflammation of the heart muscle, myocardium. The inflammation can reduce the heart’s ability to pump blood. Myocarditis can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and rapid or irregular heart rhythms, arrhythmias.
According to the authors, in the past, myocarditis had been previously associated with smallpox infections, a genetically related but more aggressive virus.
The researchers said the affected patient presented to the clinic with a five-day history including symptoms of malaise, myalgia, fever and numerous swollen lesions on his face, hands, and genitalia.
Monkeypox infection was confirmed in the man after a PCR swab sample from a skin lesion was conducted.
Three days later, the patient was said to have returned to the emergency department, complaining of chest tightness radiating to his left upper extremity and was admitted to an intensive care unit under airway isolation, with the clinical suspicion of acute myocarditis.
According to the researchers, the patient was discharged after one week and had a full clinical recovery, with cardiac enzymes within the normal range, sustained electric and hemodynamic stability and re-epithelialization of the skin lesions.
The study highlighted cardiac involvement as a likely complication connected to monkeypox infection.
“Our patient presented with acute myocarditis temporally related to the current monkeypox infection, a virus closely related to others that already have an established direct or indirect association with cardiac tissue injury. This case highlights cardiac involvement as a potential complication associated with Monkeypox infection.
“We believe that reporting this potential causal relationship can raise more awareness of the scientific community and health professionals for acute myocarditis as a possible complication associated with Monkeypox and might be helpful for close monitoring of affected patients for further recognition of other complications in the future,” the study authors noted.
The scientists further stated that more research is needed to identify the relationship between monkeypox and heart injury.
“The clinical suspicion is based primarily upon the temporal relationship. Further research is needed in order to identify the pathological mechanism underlying monkeypox-associated heart injury,” the researchers said.
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