A retired heart transplant surgeon in California, John Macoviak MD MBA is an esteemed member of the medical community. Since performing his first heart transplant in Washington, DC, he has performed several groundbreaking surgeries and written upwards of 50 medical and surgical articles. John Macoviak’s publications have covered such medical conditions as cytomegalovirus (CMV) following heart-lung transplantation.
Related to the herpes virus, CMV is an extremely common infection. In the United States, anywhere from 50 percent to 85 percent of adults have the virus. Meanwhile, nearly all adults have CMV in developing countries. Part of why the virus is transmitted so easily is due to the fact that it does not cause serious symptoms in those with healthy immune systems. In fact, many people do not experience symptoms of the virus at all. If they do, they have a low-grade fever that lasts for a few days or weeks, decreased appetite, and fatigue.
However, this isn’t the case for people with weakened immune systems. This includes people who have immune-suppressing diseases, like AIDs, those who are receiving chemotherapy, and those who have had transplants of bone marrow or organs. In these individuals, CMV is linked to retinitis, an eye condition that leads to blindness, or issues with the gastrointestinal tract. Parts of the nervous system and the brain can also be affected by CMV when the immune system is weakened, thus leading to leg weakness and confusion.
John Macoviak 