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Below is an excerpt from a complimentary research note written by our Healthcare Team of Tom Tobin, William McMahon, and Justin Venneri. We are pleased to announce our new Sector Pro Product Health Care Pro. Click HERE to learn more. |
When Keyontae Johnson, the University of Florida men's basketball player, collapsed mid-game this past weekend, we keyed on the fact that he had COVID-19 earlier this year. We are thankful to hear that he's recovering, and want to call out this article and something to watch. With COVID raging, why are we even still playing college basketball?
Carolyn Barber starts to connect the dots to the investment theme (not fully though, we'll do that),
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"In COVID patients, myocarditis appears to result from the direct infection of the virus attacking the heart, or possibly as a consequence of inflammation triggered by the body’s overly aggressive immune response. At autopsy, researchers have reported the presence of viral protein in the actual heart muscle of deceased patients—so viral involvement is possible, though the true etiology may be multifactorial. According to reports, cases of myocarditis have been seen to occur both in patients during their acute COVID illness or hospital stay and in the many weeks or even months following infection—even in those who experience only mild or asymptomatic illness initially." |
The issue, as we see it, is very complicated and may require MORE health care utilization (i.e., spending). This plays into our recovery theme because "COVID-19 patients are susceptible to hypercoagulability. For the safe return to sports after COVID-19, athletes or individuals wanting to resume physical activity should complete screening for myocardial injury and myocarditis."
Myocarditis in athletes after COVID-19 infection: The heart is not the only place to screen, but evidence is mounting that there's a real issue here.
What COVID-19 is doing to the heart, even after recovery; "emerging research finds evidence of heart damage in many COVID-19 survivors, whether they were seriously ill or not."
And, we're wondering if this is an issue for all of the people who had mild cases?
Even if it's a portion - 20-40%? - do mild cases lead to a MUCH higher cost trend? Are cardiac monitoring devices MORE necessary? The initial studies all suggest that lingering cardiac issues are a real thing that:
A) require additional investigation, and
B) must be monitored.
Outcomes of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients Recently Recovered From Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (July 2020) - "Compared with healthy controls and risk factor–matched controls, patients recently recovered from COVID-19 had lower left ventricular ejection fraction, higher left ventricle volumes, and raised native T1 and T2."
