# Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19 in Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

## TL;DR

This study finds that cardiovascular complications from COVID-19 are rare in athletes, possibly due to their strong immune systems and fitness.

## Contribution

A systematic review and meta-analysis quantifying rare cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 in athletes.

## Key findings

- Pericardial effusion was the most common cardiovascular complication in athletes with a pooled prevalence of 1.9%.
- No cardiovascular or all-cause mortality was reported in athletes with COVID-19.
- Myocarditis and pericarditis had pooled prevalence rates of 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

## Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular complications associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in athletes. A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Virtual Health Library using the terms (“COVID-19” OR “SARS-CoV-2”) AND (“athletes” OR “athlete”) AND (“pericarditis” OR “myocarditis” OR “pericardial effusion” OR “cardiovascular” OR “cardiac”). Of 671 records, 20 studies met the inclusion criteria. The most commonly reported cardiovascular abnormality was pericardial effusion, with a pooled prevalence of 1.9% (95% CI 0.08-4.4), followed by myocarditis (1.5%; 95% CI 0.9-2.7), pericarditis (1.3%; 95% CI 0.8-2.1), and myopericarditis (0.9%; 95% CI 0.2-3.4). No cases of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality were reported among athletes with COVID-19. These findings suggest that cardiovascular complications are rare in athletic populations following COVID-19 infection, potentially reflecting the protective effect of a robust immune system and high baseline cardiovascular fitness.