How are kids faring after a dangerous COVID-19 related illness?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-01-14 03:00

International

What does this mean?

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Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare, life-threatening illness that can occur after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. It's characterized by a persistent fever and extreme inflammation, and international researchers say, relative to how unwell they were, their hearts have mostly returned to normal function. The researchers looked into the heart health of over 1200 people younger than 21 years who had been diagnosed with MIS-C, and say that, after six months, 99% of them had normal function in an area of their hearts, and 92.3% had their heart arteries back to a normal size. Additionally, 95% of them reported being back to a 9/10 for for their baseline health. The team suggests that, although many patients with MIS-C in this study were very sick, most had great heart health outcomes after six months.