13-year-old Texas girl in critical condition after COVID-19 causes heart failure - Houston Chronicle
A 13-year-old girl is in critical condition at Texas Children’s Hospital a week after testing positive for COVID-19 and going into cardiac arrest.
Alina Valenzuela, 13, has a previously undetected condition called myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a family member, Miriam Tervino.COVID-19 complications affected Alina’s heart and caused the cardiac arrest on Jan.
She was placed on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine before being transferred from a hospital near her home in Pearsall to Texas Children’s on Jan.
Pediatricians and children’s hospitals have reported an uptick in young, recovered COVID-19 patients with lingering heart problems.Originally from Port Neches, Texas, Julie has worked as a community journalist in South Texas cities since 2010.