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Cardiac issues could follow youngsters post COVID-19 recovery: Experts
The impact of novel coronavirus can be far-reaching even after one has tested negative after contracting the disease. Apart from respiratory complications or body fatigue, health experts have also warned of cardiac symptoms that could cause cardiac arrest and a heart attack eventually among the youngsters post-recovery from the deadly disease.
According to the doctors, hospitals are witnessing a rise in young people reporting cardiac issues post their recovery from the infection, the most common being palpitations and in few cases as extreme as cardiac arrest or even heart attack.
Although lung injury and acute respiratory distress symptoms have been the most dreaded complications of Covid-19, it needs to be understood that the virus can also lead to heart injuries. It also poses a severe threat to patients with existing heart diseases.
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The infection can trigger blood clots formation in the heart in severe cases and cause inflammation and scarring in others. Recently, a Delhi-based private hospital treated a 31-year-old man, who suffered a heart attack after testing positive. He had no prior history of cardiac ailments and lived a healthy lifestyle.
Sundeep Mishra, professor of cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said, "All kinds of people, including youngsters, are coming back to the hospital with cardiac symptoms post-Covid. The virus increases the inflammatory process. Even if the virus patient turns negative, the inflammation keeps happening."
He further explained, "This leads to weakness of heart muscles and patients can suffer heart failure. It also increases inflammation of the vessels and increases clot formation. One in 10 people is coming with different symptoms, including cardiac issues."
The doctor suggested that those who have recovered from Covid-19 must get their echocardiography done to look at the heart function. During the Covid-19 infection, the focus is only on the lungs. Later on, people find that they also had heart problems which were totally missed," Mishra rued.
Another Delhi-based doctor, Aparna Jaswal, Additional Director, cardiology department at the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, resonated with the views and said that 5-10 per cent recovered Covid-19 patients, including youngsters, are coming back with heart issues at the hospital.
"Many young patients are coming back with palpitations, which should not go disregarded. We have also seen many cases with a slower heart rate. Some patients are presenting heart failure," said Jaswal.
Another cardiologist, however, said that the incidences of cardiac issues in youngsters after recovering from Covid-19 signifies that this age group already had the underlying disease. "Covid-19 actually precipitates the undisclosed problem. Moreover, youngsters have a poor lifestyle and eating habits, which are making them prone to ailments," said Sanjeev Gupta, a cardiologist at the Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals in Delhi.
Many patients who have recovered from COVID-19 report continued fatigue and forgetfulness, a condition is described as the COVID-19 brain fog. While some mild complications of COVID-19 after recovery, such as persistent low-grade fever, could be more perceived than real, the brain fog does affect patients, lasts longer than expected, but is temporary.
According to the experts, post-COVID infections are among the most common complications, and they are being triggered by unnecessary or long-term use of steroids among COVID-19 patients.
Many people belonging to a vulnerable group who have recovered from severe COVID-19 have reportedly developed lung fibrosis, infection in the lungs, problems related to the heart. Lung fibrosis is a condition in which lung tissue is damaged, scarred, which can also lead to palpitations, breathlessness, and fatigue.
It has become evident that SARS CoV2 affects the clotting mechanism of the human body.
In the acute phase, when the patient is hospitalised and being treated, the clotting mechanism may affect the patient severely, leading to the sudden formation of large clots inside the blood vessel even though there is no gross injury.
This stops the blood supply to that part of the organ and leads to severe damage.
In less severe cases, smaller clots may form in various organs and these may not become evident immediately, and patients might not even be aware of such clots.
Depending on where the clots are formed, the patient might experience memory loss or minor loss of functionality if the clot is inside the brain.
It is believed that the virus causes direct as well as indirect damage to the beta cells causing the onset of new diabetes in patients recovering from Covid-19.
Often, such diabetes requires insulin to keep a check on blood sugar levels. Diabetes is not a risk for Covid-19, but Covid-19 is a risk for developing diabetes. Therefore, not to scare any of you, but it is highly recommended to follow a strict and controlled lifestyle post-COVID-19 recovery.
Also, keep your doctor updated with the health complications that you may face post recovery from the deadly virus.
No, they recover. According to the health experts - people who were complaining of fatigue about a month or two ago, doesn't continue to have those symptoms after a month. It is just that it does not go away as soon as people expect it to go away. But eventually, they recover.