New complications have been discovered after COVID-19. “We don’t want to hear about it, but it’s important”

The third year of the coronavirus pandemic has begun. And while the situation seems to be improving globally, more and more is being said about complications from COVID-19. Millions of people in the world are already struggling with them. Scientists trying to understand the direct and long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the body recently made some discovery. “The study tells us something we don’t want to hear, but it is important information for many reasons,” commented on CNN physician and infectious disease expert Kent Sepkowitz.

1. Experts have no doubt that long covid will be gaining in importance. Millions of people are already struggling with it
2. A study published in Nature Medicine found that compared with those who did not have COVID-19, patients after infection had significantly more blood clots, heart problems and strokes
3. As the leader of the study pointed out, “the risk was visible even in people who had a very mild course of the disease or did not require hospitalization”
4. People who were treated in the ICU had the highest risk of cardiovascular disease after recovery
5. Check your health. Just answer these questions
6. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Complications after COVID-19. Millions of people are already struggling with them

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, but when we look at the global statistics on infections and deaths from the coronavirus, we see that the situation is starting to improve. Scientists and doctors, however, see another problem with SARS-CoV-2. These are complications after infection with the virus, the so-called long covid. Specialists have no doubts that this disease will gain in importance. Millions of people are already struggling with it.

It is difficult to predict who may develop a long covid. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it more often affects people who required hospitalization, but it is known that complications can also occur after mild illness. The findings show that long covid is usually manifested by fatigue, cognitive impairment, shortness of breath (if the symptoms persist for at least three months, it is called a long covid). In fact, long covid is an area that we are just getting to know and discover.

Further part below the video.

In early February, an article appeared in the journal Nature Medicine, providing important information on postovid complications. It all started with an analysis of the autopsy reports of those who died from COVID-19 that showed how the pathogen affects various organs. “Since many of the deaths were due to respiratory failure, many of the colleagues I spoke to expected him to watch mainly progressive pneumonia with destruction of lung tissue,” notes the contagious agent Kent Sepkowitz on CNN. «Scientists have discovered something completely different: blood clots in the lungs (also called pulmonary embolisms). Moreover, they found countless additional smaller clots in many other organs ».

Long Covid Study. «The results are clear and very meaningful»

In the study, the researchers used the databases of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). All this to trace data on the general health of over 153. people who have had COVID-19 infection (these covered a period of one year after these people recovered). This information was then compared with data from millions of people in the VA database who were similar in age, gender, and other characteristics, but who had not had SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The researchers included people who had survived COVID-19 but had never been hospitalized (131 people), patients who recovered after being in the intensive care unit (612 people) or stayed in a regular hospital ward (5 people). 388 people).

“The results are clear and very significant,” emphasizes Kent Sepkowitz. “Compared to those who were not infected with SARS-CoV-2, those who did have the infection had significantly more blood clots, heart problems and strokes.” In an earlier study article, CNN reported that “people with previous COVID-19 infections were over 60% more likely to develop cardiac problems. Many of these conditions, such as pulmonary embolism, are life-threatening ».

As Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the lead researcher pointed out, “the risk was evident even in those who had a very mild course of the disease or did not require hospitalization”. As the disease severity increased, so did the risk of long-term cardiovascular complications. People who were treated in the ICU had the highest risk of cardiovascular disease after recovery.

Greater risk of cardiovascular disease after undergoing COVID-19. What’s next?

“The study tells us something we don’t really want to hear about, but it is important information for many reasons,” says Kent Sepkowitz. «First, it will help those who are trying to understand the long covid. Second, it can help make prevention and treatment decisions in people with active COVID-19 as well as those who have survived the disease. And finally, it will probably contribute to a better understanding of the very complex process of clotting and counteracting clotting that takes place in all of us every day “- the expert says.

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The study, however, has its limitations. The people whose data were analyzed were infected with the first version of the coronavirus, possibly with the Alpha variant, dominant at the end of 2020. As Sepkowitz explains, too little time has passed to know if there will be similar dysfunctions among people who survived Delta or Omicron infections. Moreover, “no one knows how long cardiovascular abnormalities will last, or whether they will go away at all”.

This raises further questions: should anyone who has had COVID-19 find a cardiologist or blood clotting specialist? Will long-term management of COVID-19 become a new sub-specialization in medicine? Kent Sepkowitz points out that experts are developing basic guidelines to help patients determine the best course of action. “Although, once again, like in the field of AIDS medicine, much will be done by trial and error,” he notes. The specialist also hopes that the increased risk of heart disease, stroke and blood clots as possible long-term effects of COVID-19 will prompt the unvaccinated to accept the immunization.

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