In this episode, we talk about COVID-19 and the heart. How does COVID affect the heart? Listen to find out why underlying cardiovascular issues are a risk factor for severe COVID and to hear what damage COVID can to heart function. Previous COVID episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JeH5o3NVi9da1cajvJ3vL?si=15f11115272040b8  Previous RNA vaccine episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xDPH8WoMTJFLumyqDyfS5?si=390f4dee74e240e1    //Sources// COVID and heart what we know: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/covid-19-and-the-heart-what-have-we-learned-2021010621603 ACE-2 receptor: https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-ace2-receptor-how-is-it-connected-to-coronavirus-and-why-might-it-be-key-to-treating-covid-19-the-experts-explain-136928 ACE-2 ANG II: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00317/full Cardiovascular disease: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)  SARS ACE-2 receptor: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1287568/ SAR-COV-2 ACE-2 receptor: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7778857/ COVID and heart damage: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33092737/  Cardiomyocyte injury:  Cytokine storm: https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Cytokine-Storm.aspx#:~:text=During%20a%20cytokine%20storm%2C%20various,can%20lead%20to%20organ%20damage. Direct and indirect mechanisms: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776538 COVID autopsy review: https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0-S1054880720301046?returnurl=https:%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1054880720301046%3Fshowall%3Dtrue&referrer=https:%2F%2Fjamanetwork.com%2F  NEJM COVID Vaccine Myocarditis: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2110737  SARS-COV-2 and cardiomyocyte iPSCs: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abf7872