Post-COVID impact on heart
Some of the most commonly diagnosed post-COVID symptoms are shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, and chest pain. These symptoms can be caused due to suffering from a deadly illness such as COVID-19, or it could be related to your cardiac system as an after-effect of your initial COVID infection. You must differentiate between the two symptoms and call for required medical assistance if these problems are related to your heart. Let's learn more about the impact of post-COVID recovery on your heart.
Impact of post-COVID recovery on your heart
It is important to understand that the COVID-19 illness can cause serious and, in some cases, permanent damage to the muscles of your heart. This damage to the muscles of your heart can lead to serious health issues in the future, as damage to the heart leads to problems in the normal functioning of the heart. The damage to your heart can be caused due to the inflammatory actions taken by your body's immune system to protect itself from the COVID-19 virus. The inflammation affects healthy tissues and muscles in every part of your body, which also includes the tissues and muscles of your heart.
The common symptoms of post-COVID recovery such as lightheadedness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain can be caused due to heart damage caused due to the COVID-19 infection or due to the effect of being very sick for a prolonged period. It is not possible to determine just by the symptoms what are causing them. Proper medical diagnosis and medical testing are required to determine the cause of these symptoms and decide the line of treatment required to cure these symptoms.
As COVID-19 drastically reduces the blood oxygen levels in the body, this can create another problem for patients as they become at high risk for type 2 heart attacks which can be induced by the low blood oxygen levels caused due to COVID-19. People suffering from cardiac diseases or patients at high risk for cardiac diseases are most at risk for type 2 heart attacks during and after a COVID-19 infection. This condition is mostly found in patients suffering from active COVID-19 infection and less in patients that are currently recovering from COVID-19. However, the risk factors and the severity of this risk are high enough to regularly be on a doctor's watch.
Here is a list of symptoms and how you should react to them when you are recovering from COVID-19.
| Symptoms | When to call for emergency help | When to call for medical help |
|---|---|---|
| Shortness of Breath | ● Blood oxygen levels go down to less than 92% ● Shortness of breath starts suddenly without any particular cause or trigger ● Your face or lips start turning pale and bluish |
● When your shortness of breath worsens while lying down. ● Shortness of breath leads to you having to exert pressure for breathing normally ● You feel exhausted and fatigued and your ankles start swelling. |
| Chest Pain | ● When the chest pain becomes unbearable ● When the chest pain is accompanied by shortness of breath and lasts more than five minutes ● When chest pain also causes nausea, lightheadedness, and sweating. |
● When the chest pain remains persistent but is not very high ● When the chest pain is increasing gradually while being persistent ● Sudden chest pain that comes and goes within 15 mins |
Conclusion
Your heart is one of the important organs in your body. Any risk to your heart can be fatal and should be taken seriously. COVID is a dangerous disease that has a high risk for cardiac health. You should be under sound and intensive medical care if you are suffering from any of the symptoms as mentioned above. If you or your loved ones are suffering from COVID please be sure to visit Medipulse hospital for the best COVID care with expert doctors that can help you recover and eliminate any risk to your heart during and post-COVID infection. You can trust the quality of care provided at Medipulse hospital as it is the best private hospital in Jodhpur and one of the best private hospitals in the country.