It has been more than two years now, yet a lot of aftereffects of corona are still under study. Many parts of your body are affected by the coronavirus, especially your heart. In a recent research conducted in the US, it has claimed that even after recovery from infection, patients are at risk of heart stroke and heart failure. Notably, this risk is not limited to people who had symptoms but also occurs in people who do not have any symptoms of the disease.
What does the research say?
Researchers from the University of Washington monitored for more than a year 1,53,760 people who fell prey to corona. Their track record was compared to a sample size of 56 lakh people who never had corona infection.
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After comparing the two sets of data, it was found that:
- Those patients who recovered within 30 days of corona infection have a 1.5 times higher risk of heart stroke and the risk of heart failure increased by 1.7 times.
- Apart from this, such patients have 1.6 times the risk of irregular heartbeat and twice the risk of heart inflammation.
- The risk of deep vein thrombosis is also doubled in those who ever suffered from the corona. This is a life-threatening condition in which blood clots accumulate in the veins of the body. It can also block the veins of the heart.
Risk is the same irrespective of age and gender:
In research, the risk of heart diseases was found to be similar in people of all ages and genders. While many researches have shown that people are at risk of heart disease during corona, this is the first research that shows the risk of these diseases after recovery in corona patients. Even people suffering from obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and kidney disease were found to have the same risk of heart diseases after corona recovery.
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According to research, if one was infected with corona, then he/she will always be at risk of heart diseases. Although the intensity of the risk will depend on the severity of the infection. If you had mild or no symptoms of COVID-19, then you are at low risk of heart disease. But if anyone was admitted to ICU due to corona, then that person is at high risk of these diseases.
Underlying reason:
Although a concrete reason for heart-related diseases due to corona is yet to be found, it can be attributed to the damaged cells of the heart muscle due to COVID-19. Apart from this, this problem can also occur due to an overactive immune system and resultant cytokines storm and swelling in the heart.