“Unfortunately, we found that the effects on the heart and vascular system actually outweighed the effects on other organ systems,” said Susan Cheng, MD, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles..
It’s not just a patient problem new coronavirus. People may be at increased risk of new heart-related problems ranging from blood clots, cardiac arrhythmias and heart attacks up to a year after contracting COVID-19, even if they initially appear to be recovering well.
Unknown points include: Who is most at risk of these sequelae? Are they reversible, or a warning sign of bigger heart problems later in life?
‘We’re coming out of this pandemic’ because of virus-related heart problems, doctor says Ziad Ali of Washington Universitywhich helps sound the alarm about ongoing health problems associated with the disease Coronavirus disease. The fallout “could affect generations,” he added.
Heart disease has long been the leading cause of death USA and the world.but in USAIn 2019, just before the pandemic hit, heart-related deaths had fallen to record levels.
COVID-19 wipes out a decade of gains, says WHO Dr. Cheng.
Heart disease deaths have increased during each coronavirus surge.Worse still, young people shouldn’t get heart disease, but study Procedure During the first two years of the pandemic, a nearly 30 percent increase in heart disease deaths among people aged 25 to 44 was recorded.
It’s a troubling sign that the problems may be here to stay: High blood pressure is one of the biggest risks for heart disease, “and, in fact, during the pandemic, people’s blood pressure has risen dramatically,” he added.
Cardiovascular symptoms part of so-called long-term coronavirus, a generic term covering dozens of health problems, including fatigue and brain fog.this National Institutes of Health Small studies are starting to look at some possible treatments for some symptoms of long-term COVID-19, including heart rhythm problems.
but Procedure Say both patients and doctors need to know, sometimes Cardiovascular problems are the first or main symptom of the damage caused by the coronavirus.
“These people aren’t necessarily going to the doctor and saying, ‘I’ve had coronavirus for a long time,'” he said.
What is the risk of heart problems after contracting the new coronavirus? To find out, ally Analyze medical records from huge databases Veterans Health Administration. Compared with people who were not infected, COVID-19 patients who survived the early stages of the pandemic were more likely to experience heart arrhythmias, blood clots, chest pain and palpitations, and even heart attacks and strokes a year later. . This even includes middle-aged adults with no previous signs of heart disease.
According to these findings, ally Calculate 4 in 100 people need treatment for some type of heart-related condition within a year of recovering from COVID-19.
To everyone, it’s a very small risk. But the severity of the pandemic means millions of people are experiencing at least some cardiovascular symptoms, he said.Although reinfection can still cause problems, now ally It is being studied whether the vaccine reduces the overall risk as milder strains of the coronavirus emerge.
Recent research confirms the need for better understanding and care of these cardiac sequelae.Analysis of a large database of health insurers this spring USA found patients new coronavirus seek medical attention cardiovascular problemsinclude Blood clots, cardiac arrhythmia, or stroke within a year of infectioncompared with similar patients not infected with COVID-19.
It is not surprising that damage to the heart after infection is associated with this.Rheumatic fever, an inflammatory response to untreated strep throat, especially before antibiotics became common, can lead to valve scarring of heart. “Will this be the next rheumatic heart disease? We don’t know,” he said.
but ally Say there’s a simple take-home message: You can’t change your history of COVID-19 infection, but you’re ignoring other heart risks — such as high cholesterol or blood pressure, poorly managed diabetes or smoking — and now’s the time to change that .
“Those are things we can do something about. I think they’re more important now than they were in 2019,” he said.
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