Research Finds Recovered COVID-19 Patients May Have Heart Complications Later
- fionacsweet
- Jul 31, 2020
- 2 min read
Research now suggests that COVID-19 has lasting impacts on the heart. Two German studies that were published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA cardiology, found heart abnormalities in patients months after they had already gotten better from the virus.
The first study used 100 patients from the University of Hospital Frankfurt who were relatively healthy adults in their 40s and 50s and had contracted the disease. About 1/3 of these patients required hospitalization. Researchers looked at cardiac magnetic resonance imaging taken two and a half months after their diagnosis and compared them with people who had never tested positive for the coronavirus. The study found heart abnormalities in 78 patients, with 60 of those patients showing signs of inflammation in the heart muscle from COVID-19.
Experts say that the prevalence of inflammation is an important connection to the virus as COVID-19 is known for its high inflammatory response. Dr. Thomas Maddoc, chair of the American College of Cardiology's Science and Quality Committee, said heart inflammation could lead to weakening of the heart muscle and sometimes abnormal heart beats. In addition, inflammation is the first prerequisite for heart failure and over a prolonged amount of time could "leave important residual damage" that could "set up the scenario" for other kinds of heart disease.
Even if you don't exhibit any symptoms after getting the coronavirus, its long term effects are much more serious. These studies go to show that getting this disease should not be taken lightly, and therefore people should not be lenient with social distancing guidelines. COVID-19 is not just a case of the sniffles, as Trump suggested, but rather a precursor to concerning long term problems.
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