The recent spate of deaths due to heart attack in Gujarat at Garba events during the Navratri has shifted the focus back to a possible link between COVID-19 infection and the cardiac health of those affected.

A COVID-19 infection may affect the artery wall tissue and the associated macrophages, a study by the National Institutes of Health said. “The findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke by infecting artery wall tissue, including associated macrophages. This provokes inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques, which could lead to heart attack or stroke,” it added.

A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, or ICMR, also pointed out that a COVID-19 infection may contribute to heart attacks and that those who have suffered a severe bout of the infection should not overexert themselves for at least a year or two.

At least 10 heart attack deaths were reported at Garba events across Gujarat in a day during Navratri and the youngest of the victims was just 17, prompting the state health minister, Rushikesh Patel, to call a meeting of health experts and cardiologists.

“The ICMR has conducted a detailed study according to which those who have suffered from severe COVID-19 infection should not overexert themselves. They should stay away from hard workouts, running, and strenuous exercises for a short time, say a year or two, to avoid heart attacks,” he said.

The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya cited the ICMR report as he urged people not to overexert themselves if they have had a Covid infection in the last one or two years. Speaking about the country’s healthcare ecosystem, Mr Mandaviya said, “We follow a holistic and inclusive approach.”

Addressing how the healthcare infrastructure scrambled to treat patients during the pandemic, Mr Mandaviya said, “We are expanding the health infrastructure and are promoting traditional systems of medicine.”

An AIIMS study underlining India’s cardiac crisis said that only 10 per cent of patients with cardiac emergencies make it to the healthcare facilities within an hour. “55% of them delayed hospital visits to understand what had happened, while around 20-30% found it difficult to arrange a vehicle or the money for treatment.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to retake the witness stand on Monday in his trial on fraud charges tied to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, with prosecutors poised to challenge his assertion that he did not steal billions of dollars in customer funds.

Sam Bankman-Fried first is due to answer around two more hours worth of friendlier questions from his defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, who is expected to ask the 31-year-old former billionaire about his version of the dramatic events of November 2022, when FTX collapsed amid a wave of customer withdrawals.

Three of Sam Bankman-Fried’s former close confidantes, each of whom pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution, earlier told the jury that he posted or directed others to post misleading messages on social media to give customers false assurance about FTX’s health in a bid to stop a run on deposits.

During six hours of testimony on Friday about events earlier in 2022 and in prior years,Sam  Bankman-Fried sought to distance himself from specific actions he said the three cooperating witnesses took without his firsthand involvement. He also admitted to making “mistakes” that hurt FTX’s customers and employees, but said he never set out to take customers’ money.

Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy. Prosecutors have said he looted billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to prop up his hedge fund, Alameda Research, make speculative venture investments, and contribute to U.S. political campaigns. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

His decision to testify in his own defense is risky, as it opens him up to probing cross-examination by prosecutors. But legal experts told Reuters he may have viewed taking the stand as his best shot at countering testimony from the three cooperating witnesses that he directed them to commit crimes.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan has said jury deliberations could begin by Thursday or Friday.

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