As COVID-19 moves within Texas Wesleyan teams, UNT Health Science is on call to help
TCU isn’t the only college in Fort Worth playing football during the fall sports season and in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Texas Wesleyan is two games deep into its abbreviated schedule, but the Rams haven’t played since Nov. 7.
One player tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 9, and the resulting 14-day quarantine period of 13 players and three coaches forced the Rams’ hand.
But Texas Wesleyan has a partner as it attempts to traverse the pandemic and potential damage that could be done to athletes’ hearts. The UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth is providing testing and follow-up care for recovered athletes.
In all, 55 Texas Wesleyan players participating in fall sports have been screened for cardiac abnormalities, and 10 more are being monitored for possible testing.
“The numbers are going up all the time,” said HSC clinical instructor and physician assistant Laine Markham.
“These are 20-year-old athletes, so the percentage of cardiac abnormalities in 20-year-olds is going to be different than the general population or especially over 60. The concern here is their risk would be greater. They’re high-performance athletes and their cardiac performance is much high than the average, so the risk that something goes wrong is much greater — such as sudden cardiac death.”
The HSC Cardiovascular Medicine Clinic provides electrocardiograms, echocardiograms and two rounds of blood work to make sure the disease didn’t also damage a player’s heart.
One of the side effects of COVID-19 is viral myocarditis, which causes inflammation of the heart muscle and can leave small scars.
Markham said returning to high-intensity athletic competition with abnormalities could be catastrophic. So, if any abnormalities are found, players will meet with a cardiologist and undergo a cardiac MRI.
She said that two athletes have been flagged with potential abnormalities, but further testing showed that none were present.
“That’s great news,” Markham said.
Attempting to differentiate abnormalities found in average adults and college athletes can be tricky, Markham said. An atlhete’s heart has been conditioned to the extra workload asked of it, so comparing it to an average person’s heart doesn’t provide accurate data.
Without any pre-COVID testing to analyze, the best course is to error on the side of caution. That accounts for the extra layer of testing before a COVID-positive athlete is allowed to return to competition.
An electrocardiogram or echocardiogram is recommended for anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 and might experience new discomfort in the chest or a shortness of breath.
“There is still much to learn about the effects of COVID-19 on the student-athlete,” Peter Brock, the head athletic trainer at Texas Wesleyan, said in a news release. “Ensuring the health and safety of each student-athlete is our highest priority, and requiring each student-athlete to complete cardiac testing before returning to competition helps us achieve that goal.”
The Rams are also playing volleyball and men’s soccer. The men’s and women’s basketball seasons have been suspended for the rest of the fall semester, but the plan is to start play Jan. 9.
Texas Wesleyan is grateful for the partnership with the UNT Health Science Center.
“We can’t thank HSC enough for their willingness to partner with Texas Wesleyan athletics,” Brock said.
