Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is done for the season, following complications from a condition he suffered from the coronavirus. He was diagnosed in early July with the coronavirus.
He was set to return to the team by mid-month, however a health screening discovered a heart condition that will sideline Rodriguez for the 2020 season. Rodriguez is 27 years old.
The condition is called myocarditis, when the heart becomes inflamed. Inflammation of the heart muscle was recently identified in two studies looking at lingering health effects in coronavirus survivors.
Rodriguez did not experience chest pain or any symptoms, according to multiple media outlets.
The condition was revealed during an MRI to check his heart following COVID-19.
He said the experience was eye opening, but that having a mother who is a nurse has helped put his mind at ease.
“The heart is the most important part of your body, so when you hear that — the first time that I heard it — I was kind of scared,” Rodriguez told Mass Live on July 26. “Now that I know what it is, it’s still scary, but now I know exactly what it is. Just talk to my mom, talk to my wife, they know what I have and everything. Now we just gotta take the rest. That’s hard, but you gotta take a rest.''
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium). Myocarditis can affect your heart muscle and your heart’s electrical system, reducing your heart’s ability to pump and causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).”
Rodriguez’s doctors told him that 10-20% of people who have had COVID-19 also have been diagnosed with myocarditis, according to the Associated Press.
Rodriguez previously said that his bout with the coronavirus had left him feeling “100 years old” and that it took him about 10 days before he was able to do any light throwing.
He said he’s currently not experiencing any COVID-19-related symptoms.