by Daniel Brouse
There have been many documented cases of Sars-Cov-2 causing heart problems including Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart.) Johns Hopkins Medicine says, “Coronavirus infection also affects the inner surfaces of veins and arteries, which can cause blood vessel inflammation, damage to very small vessels and blood clots, all of which can compromise blood flow to the heart or other parts of the body.”
Long term studies have now shown a significant long term risk of heart disease. In the Nature article, Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case, the authors report:
Massive study shows a long-term, substantial rise in risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
What’s more, the risk was elevated even for those who were under 65 years of age and lacked risk factors, such as obesity or diabetes.
“It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, it doesn’t matter if you smoked, or you didn’t,” says study co-author Ziyad Al-Aly at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the chief of research and development for the Veterans Affairs (VA) St. Louis Health Care System. “The risk was there.”
“I am actually surprised by these findings that cardiovascular complications of COVID can last so long,” Hossein Ardehali, a cardiologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.
Data from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai found that deaths from heart attacks rose significantly during pandemic surges. “The dramatic rise in heart attacks during the pandemic has reversed what was a prior decades-long steady improvement in cardiac deaths,” said Yee Hui Yeo, MD, first author of the study. “We are still learning the many ways by which COVID-19 affects the body, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or race.”
Post-COVID individuals should be on the lookout for heart related issues. Studies have shown an increase risk of hypertension. The study Does COVID-19 Cause Hypertension? concluded, “These findings suggest that COVID-19 increases systolic and diastolic BP and may cause new onset hypertension.”
The Journal Nature published the study Long COVID and hypertension-related disorders. “As a sequel to our previous report in 2020 which reviewed the association of COVID-19 and hypertension, we summarize the possible influences of long COVID on hypertension-related organs, including the cardiovascular system, kidney, and endocrine system, as well as the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with the disorders.” The study concludes, “Evidence suggests that long COVID affects the clinical course of hypertension-related disorders, such as CVD, kidney diseases, and endocrine diseases. Studies thus far also indicate that long COVID has greater impacts on older population and women.”
A niacin supplement (nicotinic acid) is recommended to help reduce the severity of long term complications.
ALSO SEE: COVID: Long COVID Update: Living With It
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