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| - A study published Thursday showed only five of 789 athletes with Covid-19 in major North American team sports leagues suffered inflammatory heart disease, a 0.6% rate. The JAMA Cardiology study was done with the cooperation of medical experts from the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL and Women's NBA involving players infected from May to October last year in the largest investigation of Covid-19 cardiac impact on athletes. "Since the onset of the pandemic, we have worked more closely together than ever to share lessons learned to ensure the best possible care for players," the six leagues involved said in a joint statement. "As part of that ongoing collaboration, each league implemented a similar cardiac screening program for athletes with prior COVID-19 infection." The programs, based upon American College of Cardiology recommendations, were used to detect serious heart condition resulting from the coronavirus and help promote an athlete's safe return to competition after being infected with Covid-19. "Using de-identified data from the six leagues, the peer-reviewed study found very few cases of inflammatory heart disease and that a return to professional sports following Covid-19 infection can be safely achieved using this return to play screening program," the statement said. After a Covid-19 positive test, athletes underwent tests to track their resting heart rhythms, had an ultrasound image taken of their hearts and had a biomarker measure a protien to detect heart damage. There were abnormal test results returned from 30 athletes who were given a cardiac MRI exam, where doctors found three cases of myocarditis and two cases of pericarditis. The results could benefit other sports leagues worldwide. "This reporting of systeming RTP (return to play) cardiac screening, while not generalizable to all athletic populations, can provide clinical guidance for other athletic organizations who are preparing and optimizing RTP protocols," the JAMA Cardiology study concluded. "Similar studies of other athletes -- including pediatric, collegiate and masters level athletes -- are required." While follow-up study is ongoing, the results found no adverse cardiac events in athletes who underwent cardiac screening and resumed professional sport participation. "As with other lessons professional sports have learned about Covid-19, the results of this study are being shared broadly to continue to contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the virus -- a commitment we collectively share with each other and our players for the benefit of society beyond sports," the statement said. js/rcw
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