The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 49 COVID patients today, 55 Wednesday. Other significant numbers:

•  25 with the active virus today, 29 Wednesday
•  5 in ICU, 7 Wednesday
•  3 on a ventilator, 6 Wednesday

Key points from today’s guests:

Brittany Claborn, runner

• The 39-year-old Joplin, Missouri, mom of two encountered a frightening ordeal beginning in December of 2021 -- during her daily morning run she felt something wrong in her chest.
• She went to a doctor in Joplin, who fitted her with a wearable heart monitor and asked her to run with it for a week before turning the monitor back in.
• A few hours later, she got an urgent call from an ER doctor who told her to stop running immediately because she had 202 episodes of ventricular tachycardia, and at one point had reached 280 beats per minute – it could have been deadly.
• Her doctor sent her to Dr. Seth Sheldon, at The University of Kansas Health System.
• Dr. Sheldon performed a cardio ablation and installed a subcutaneous defibrillator to detect and stop future tachycardia episodes, and he determined the cause as myocarditis, an inflammation of Brittany's heart.
• As for what caused the myocarditis, Dr. Sheldon ordered a genetic test which revealed nothing in Brittany's family history, but she revealed something in her own history -- three previous COVID-19 infections.

Dr. Madhu Reddy, electrophysiologist, The University of Kansas Health System

• The heart is a pump and like any pump, it works in response to electricity within the body.
• Electrophysiologists are the “electricians of the heart” and specialize in the electrical system of the heart.
• The most common symptom that people have when they have heart rhythm disorders are palpitations.
• Fluttering sensations are a very common thing. About 5-10 years ago we didn't have tools to monitor most people. But now we can do monitoring on a continuous basis with simpler tools.
• The key is if you're having palpitations, it's generally related to your heart beating faster, and it is always a good idea to get it checked out with an electrocardiogram and a monitor.

COVID Updates

Dr. Nathan Bahr, infectious diseases, The University of Kansas Health System

• The White House is reportedly ending the COVID emergency declaration in the coming months.
• This allowed resources to be available that otherwise are not, so some of those resources will go away – meaning some of the things that have continued to be free because the government's paying for them will no longer be free.
• COVID is not over. We see people still in the hospital and in the ICU on ventilators. According to CDC data, there have been more than 20,000 COVID-related deaths in January.
• While myocarditis has been reported in some groups after the COVID vaccine, the risks of myocarditis are much higher with COVID itself.

Friday, February 3, is the next Morning Medical Update. Where can you turn when your doctor doesn't believe you? Despite multiple scans and tests that came back negative, one patient said she wasn't imagining the pain. You’ll see the condition and the treatment that finally gave her relief.

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