Long Covid: the evidence of lingering heart damage

[Northerner]

On 29 February, Melissa Vanier, a 52-year-old postal worker from Vancouver, had just returned from holiday in Cuba when she fell seriously ill with Covid-19. “For the entire month of March I felt like I had broken glass in my throat,” she says, describing a range of symptoms that included fever, migraines, extreme fatigue, memory loss and brain fog. “I had to sleep on my stomach because otherwise it felt like someone was strangling me.”

By the third week of March, Vanier had tested negative for Sars-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19. But although the virus had left her body, this would prove to be just the beginning of her problems. In May, she noticed from her Fitbit that her heart rate appeared to be highly abnormal. When cardiologists conducted a nuclear stress test – a diagnostic tool that measures the blood flow to the heart – it showed she had ischaemic heart disease, meaning that the heart was not getting sufficient blood and oxygen.

Nicola Allan, a 45-year-old teacher from Liverpool, tells a similar story. Two months after first being diagnosed with Covid-19, she found her heart would start racing without warning. “It would get to 193 beats per minute,” she says. “It could be in the middle of the night or during the day. I would go white as a sheet, begin shaking and have to grab on to the walls for support. I’m now on beta blockers which have helped, but cardiologists still don’t understand why it happens.”

Both stories illustrate a wider trend – that the coronavirus can leave patients with lasting heart damage long after the initial symptoms have dissipated.

Long Covid: the evidence of lingering heart damage

Cardiologists are finding that heart problems can persist long after Covid-19

www.theguardian.com

 

[trophywench]

That's exactly what happened with one of the Van Tulleken twins. The other twin filmed it and it was shown on TV within the last few weeks. His heart raced to such a speed, they had to stop it completely in A&E then electric shock it back to life. The other twin was there and familiar with the procedure but it still made him cry. The one who was the patient made us two watching, cry with laughter. I'm sorry, partly relief and more because the shock made him sit bolt upright on the trolley they were treating him on, shout the F word loudly, and then back down again and 'out of it' again before coming round again properly in a normal sort of way and instantly well spoken and polite again as always previously.

Now - husband and I are avid watchers of past series filmed in A&E so we've seen that treatment before too - but never seen that reaction - so is it common, do they just edit it out for most people cos they want you to have sympathy for the poor sick person and you might lose that if you heard them issuing foul mouthed expletives? Dunno. Whereas with Dr VT - we both thought My God - THAT much of a shock, to the core of his being - and felt more sympathetic not less.

 

[Ditto]

I watched the Twins thing. It brought home to me how serious this all is, before that I was quite blase. The programme was very upsetting, if it can happen to educated fit people there's no hope for us ol' bids, me Mum and most of the family! 😳 All our hearts are knackered anyways.

 

[trophywench]

Husband commented yesterday whilst watching a You Tube video - we watch a selection of folk who vlog, this was a couple whose home is on a narrowboat permanently berthed in a marina somewhere in the vicinity of Milton Keynes, their family is in M/K. He also delivers for their daughter who is a florist and also for Amazon using their car which they also keep in the marina carpark. Anyway - they nipped in a supermarket, commented that they'd just seen some whatever that they like eating, it looked good so they bought it and so were having that for dinner tonight.

He said, 'I really MISS that - going in for a normal week's shopping and just seeing something you hadn't thought of that happens to take your fancy - so buying it!'

We have not been allowed by one of our daughters to go supermarket shopping, she'll do that (and has) so the last time either of us did was Thursday March 12th.

We may kick over the traces and regain personal control of our own existence any time soon cos though it made me laugh to start with - your daughters getting their own back for all the times you grounded them, maybe? - I am becoming 'a tad jaded' by it at this juncture.