COVID-19 infection wears off within weeks in most cases by day 14 and a person is assumed cured he or she is able to walk out of the hospital or resume daily life after the 14-day-long home isolation or home quarantine. Though, immediate target of Covid-19 still remains the respiratory organs but there is another condition, called long-Covid, which is bothering doctors and scientists world over. It has been found that some of the Covid-19 patients come back to hospitals with ailments in heart, brain and kidney. In response to the virus, the body’s immune system increases inflammation levels to help fight infection and repair injuries.
Doctors say that while the recovery rate is encouraging for many Covid-positive patients in India, there are some after-effects of the disease, which can cause long-term health issues. In fact, a recent study by the Oxford journal has revealed nearly 50 per cent of people hospitalised with severe COVID-19 have shown evidence of heart damage months after recovering from the disease.
However, prolonged inflammation associated with long-term illness causes collateral damage by mistakenly harming the body’s own cells and tissues. People with COVID-19 have also developed thromboembolic disease or blood clots and arrhythmias. Starting to exercise too quickly, or taking on too much too soon, without being aware of the condition of heart can have negative effects. This is due to the long-term effects of COVID-19, which are still being researched.
COVID-19 infection triggers inflammation in the body that may lead to weakening of the heart muscle, abnormalities in heart rhythm, and even cause clot formation in blood vessels. Second, the virus may directly invade receptor cells, known as ACE2 receptors, within the myocardial tissue and cause direct viral harm. These complications such as myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, could lead to an increase in heart failure overtime. For people with pre-existing heart diseases, this can result in advancement in the issue or rise of different heart ailments.
Increased pressure on heart raises the blood pressure that can put tremendous pressure on blood vessels and cause coronary artery disease. Weakened heart is a situation when early medical attention is needed. It is advisable for recovered Covid-19 patients, especially those with severe symptoms, to undergo tests to check the health of the heart in weeks after recovery.
Some symptoms that Covid-19 patients are advised to monitor after their discharge are:
- Discomfort in chest
- Spreading pain or pressure in arms, usually right or left
- Unexplained profuse sweating
- Feeling of irregular heartbeat
- Excessive tiredness or exhaustion without much physical work
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a dramatic increase in heart attacks and strokes happening in the community as a result of the public’s fear of visiting medical facilities. Even now, almost 17 months since the pandemic began, there still are many patients who are not keeping up with their routine healthcare and ignore cardiopulmonary post-COVID symptoms. It also has become clear that pre-existing cardiovascular disease is a major risk factor for COVID-19 related disease severity and mortality. Whether this will result in chronic, cardiovascular disease has yet to be determined. Doctors advise that there also must be careful follow-up over the ensuing months in patients with multiple, unrelated symptoms.
