COVID Heart Attacks: Why They’re Different

COVID heart injuries are real even if you haven’t heard of them. Disbelief isolates patients fighting to be heard, treated, and simply allowed to breathe.

Support looks like this

 Traditional Heart Attack: The Plumbing Problem

This is the one most people know:

• Caused by blocked arteries, usually from cholesterol and fat buildup
• When a plaque ruptures, it forms a blood clot that blocks blood flow
• The heart muscle downstream is starved of oxygen, leading to chest pain, damage, or even death of heart tissue
• Treatment often includes stents, bypass surgery, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and blood pressure meds

This is the kind of heart attack you see on TV. It’s serious but it’s also well-known, well-funded, and well-covered by insurance.

 COVID-Related Heart Injury: The Invisible Storm

This one’s harder to spot and harder for some to believe:

• The arteries are clear. No cholesterol blockage
• Instead, COVID can damage the heart in other ways:
• Myocarditis: inflammation of the heart muscle
• Microvascular damage: tiny vessels get inflamed or clogged with micro clots
• Cytokine storm: the immune system goes into overdrive, harming healthy tissue
• Stress cardiomyopathy: extreme stress hormones temporarily weaken the heart

These injuries don’t show up on a standard Cath test. They don’t respond to statins or blood pressure meds and in my husband’s case, those meds actually made things worse.

🩺 Why His Case Looks “Different”

• His arteries are under 20% blockage
• His cholesterol is excellent (73)
• No diabetes. No Liver and No kidney disease
• His blood pressure is naturally low, so standard meds were unsafe
• His heart injury came from COVID-triggered inflammation, not clogged pipes

This isn’t rare. It’s just under-recognized.
Sources:

• Cleveland Clinic
• Mayo Clinic
• Harvard Medicine

What Recovery Looks Like

• Support the heart muscle’s healing
• Avoid anything that lowers blood pressure too much
• Watch for symptoms: fatigue, swelling, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat
• Focus on gentle movement, anti-inflammatory nutrition, stress reduction
• Use imaging (like echocardiograms or MRIs) to track progress

In more advanced cases, recovery may involve mechanical support like a temporary heart pump to assist blood flow while waiting for a transplant. Devices such as the Impella 5.5 or a total artificial heart can help stabilize patients with COVID-related heart failure, giving them time to heal or qualify for transplant. These tools aren’t just machines they’re bridges to survival, especially when the heart can’t recover on its own.

✅ In Short

• A traditional heart attack is a plumbing problem
• A COVID-related heart injury is an inflammation and micro-vessel problem

So if someone’s treatment looks different, it’s not because they’re faking or exaggerating. It’s because their heart was injured in a way that most people haven’t had to learn about. And that’s okay. But it’s also time we start listening.

This is what disbelief looks like

 Final Thought

If your loved one says they had a COVID-related heart injury, don’t dismiss it just because you haven’t heard of it. That’s not proof it isn’t real it’s proof you haven’t had to live it.

Please don’t say, “I talked to family and friends and nobody’s heard of that,” followed by, “Are you sure?” or “Did you make this up?”
Those words don’t help. They isolate someone who’s already fighting to be heard by cardiologists, by insurance systems, by their own body.

They’re not asking for sympathy. They’re asking for understanding.  For treatments that help, not harm.  For the chance to breathe easier.  To live a little longer. To be believed. So if you’re unsure, research. Ask questions. But above all listen.  Because belief can be the first medicine. And doubt, the first wound.  

 Author Disclaimer

This article was created through a collaborative process between human insight and AI support. Every paragraph was reviewed and edited before moving forward, often over the course of an hour or more. The final version reflects multiple drafts, emotional calibration, and careful refinement.

All concepts, research, emotional framing, and final editorial decisions were made by the author. AI was used to assist with drafting and organization, under the author’s direct guidance.

Written by Susang6 with AI collaboration.
Concept, research, and final editorial decisions by Susan.
Drafting support provided by AI.