A 25-year-old student had heart failure the second time she contracted COVID-19. She never thought she would get infected with the same virus again.
Ramya Yeleti's family got infected with COVID-19 in April. Her cardiologist father became sick, which could have likely been from his work. The dad quarantined, but soon his wife got sick, which was then followed by Yeleti's sister and then her too.
Never thought COVID was a big deal
The Carmel, Indiana, student told "TODAY" that she never thought COVID was a big deal because she felt better and got a positive result for antibodies three weeks after her mild symptoms appeared.
However, at the end of July, Yeleti had to call out sick because she developed a fever and fatigue. She tested negative for COVID, and she believed that it was some nasty flu bug that she caught. She thought that there was a small chance of getting reinfected with the virus.
Started having chest pains
Yeleti started having chest pains and uncontrollably vomiting two days after she took the test. Her father rushed her to the hospital the next day because her vital signs were alarmingly low. What surprised Yeleti was that doctors took her to a trauma room and then had her on an EKG machine.
The student told the "IndyStar" that she did not expect to experience that because she was young and just chilling. She learned that her heart was only pumping at ten percent from the EKG machine, which was way below the normal of 55 to 65 for a healthy heart.
Yeleti passed out, but before she did, she thought about if she would ever wake up again. She saw the doctors freaking out that made her think she might die. All Yeleti hoped for was for her family to be okay.
Doctors put Yeleti on a cardiac life support machine during the six days that she was unconscious. They listed her on the heart transplant list and then proceeded to have her open heart surgery.
She had myocarditis at a young age
Yeleti could not believe that doctors diagnosed her to have myocarditis at her age. She tested positive for both COVID-19 and parvovirus, and doctors believed that COVID-19 had caused her to have heart failure.
Fast recovery
Yeleti's cardiologist at Indiana University Health, Dr. Roopa Rao, told "TODAY" that the hyperactivity had caused her heart muscle damage. Amazingly, Yeleti's condition improved fast, and doctors took the life support machine two days later.
After the student's open-heart surgery, she improved quickly so she was allowed to leave after 12 days. Dr. Rao said that Yeleti was a very rare incident because her heart came back to almost its normal self.
Now, the 25-year-old is at home recovering even though she still experiences fatigue. For at least six months, she will have heart inflammation. Yeleti reminds people to wear their masks because other people are suffering from COVID.
