During a cricket match, a Noida techie passes away from a heart attack

An engineer was playing cricket in Noida when he suddenly fell and died from a heart attack. It was a startling occurrence that happened on Sunday. The upsetting incident, which was caught on camera, shows how Vikas Negi dashed to the other side of the field with the intention of finishing a race. Yet in the middle, he unexpectedly passed out. In an effort to provide him instant support, the wicketkeeper and other teammates raced to his help.

Vikas Negi was sent to a local hospital immediately, and upon arrival, doctors pronounced him dead, according to NDTV. After the authorities took possession of his corpse for a postmortem investigation, the physicians’ first findings said that a heart attack was the reason for his premature death.

Based on preliminary data, it seems that Vikas Negi may have previously fought COVID-19. Despite this, the news source said that he was well-known for keeping himself physically fit and often participated in cricket contests in Noida and Delhi.

Heart attacks with COVID-19: A correlation

An NIH-funded research team headed by Dr. Chiara Giannarelli of New York University School of Medicine conducted an investigation to see if COVID-19 might raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Samples from the cardiac arteries of eight individuals who passed away from COVID-19 between May 2020 and May 2021 were examined.

They discovered that every patient’s cardiac artery tissue had the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Compared to the surrounding adipose tissue, they found higher concentrations of the virus in the artery walls. The majority of the infected cells were macrophages, a subset of white blood cells that aid in the defense against infections. They also clear blood arteries of cholesterol. Atherosclerosis is a condition caused by plaque accumulation in the arteries due to excessive cholesterol.

The research demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 may infect human macrophages in a lab dish as well as foam cells, which are macrophages loaded with cholesterol. This may help to explain the increased incidence of severe COVID-19 among those with atherosclerosis, or plaque accumulation.

It was discovered that the virus enters these cells via a surface protein known as neuropilin. The infection diminished when the neuropilin gene in these cells was switched off. Reducing the infection also included preventing the virus from binding to neuropilin.

The macrophages and foam cells were inflamed due to infection, and these cells produced chemicals that are known to be linked to heart attacks and strokes. The arterial plaques removed from individuals who had vascular surgery showed a comparable inflammatory reaction, according to the researchers.

Accordingly, the research indicates that SARS-CoV-2 may raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes by infecting artery walls and the macrophages that are linked to them, which may result in inflammation in the plaque and an attack or stroke.