COVID-19 Myopericarditis in a Young Healthy Male

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infection can present in different clinical forms, most commonly as bilateral pneumonia, but also with pericardial/myocardial involvement. Cardiac involvement in COVID-19 is associated with worse outcomes. The authors report a case of myopericarditis as the primary manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a 20-year-old male patient with no known cardiovascular (CV) disorders or risk factors. The patient presented with pleuritic chest pain and high fever, with no respiratory symptoms. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram changes were consistent with pericarditis; concomitant elevation of cardiac enzymes revealed myocardial involvement. The patient had a slow but favourable evolution with no apparent impact on cardiac function. Other causes of myopericarditis were excluded and SARS-CoV-2 admitted as the most likely aetiological agent. This case highlights possible cardiac involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infection with little or no pulmonary disease in a young healthy patient. Such systemic and potentially troublesome manifestations of COVID-19 are increasingly being described.