Doctors finding heart complications in teens that contract COVID

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - As the country gets ready to roll out the Pfizer COVID vaccine to teens 12 to 15, doctors are reminding parents that getting COVID comes with risks.

Increasingly, many pediatricians are seeing teens who’ve had COVID turn up with abnormal EKG heart tests.

An EKG is a screening tool to determine if there’s a problem with the heart such as an enlargement or an electrical problem.

ProMedica Pediatrician Dr. Jeffrey Moore MD says it’s very important to get an EKG heart screening after COVID and before returning to sports. It checks for common problems. “Some sort of squeeze issues with the heart. Evidence of heart block or conduction issues that you sometimes see.”

It could indicate if a more intensive test is required. “I kind of take the whole picture. One, What is the underlying picture with the EKG, How sick were they with COVID Do they have underlying co-morbidities or underlying issues. And then determine if they need things like an echocardiogram, an MRI or an exercise stress test to clear them before they return to competitive sports.”

It does appear the problems are not long-term yet. “Luckily knock on wood with the strains that we have seen most of them have become quite well and have had remarkable recoveries.”