Covid has given rise to heart-related issues, warn health experts

With Covid-19 infection, there has been a 25-30 percent rise in the frequency of heart attacks and heart failure, health experts warned on Monday.

An artist's rendition of heart related diseases.James-Alex Matthews, Infers Group (Wikimedia Commons)

With Covid-19 infection, there has been a 25-30 percent rise in the frequency of heart attacks and heart failure, health experts warned on Monday.

According to cardiologists at the Sarvodaya Hospital in Faridabad, they have seen a significant surge in cases of heart attack and heart failure in the post-Covid period. The incidence has gone up by more than one-fourth in the last year.

"After the pandemic, the incidence of heart attacks and heart failure has increased by 25-30 percent in people who got infected with Covid. Patients, who had to be hospitalized or put on a ventilator due to Covid-19, are now much more vulnerable to heart complications, and we see a considerable surge in such cases."

L.K. Jha, Associate Director-Cardiology (Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad)

Heart attack is the progeny of bad lifestyle. Covid has become a catalyst for it.IANS

According to doctors, there are two ways by which Covid-19 affects the heart.

"First is direct infection of the heart muscle, due to which it gets weakened, leading to heart failure. The second is that after Covid-19, a mild form of the infection persists in the body for many months. The arteries remain inflamed, leading to the tendency of clotting inside the heart. This results in heart attack and other complications," Jha said.

With Covid-19 infection, there has been a rise in the frequency of heart attacks.Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM (Wikimedia Commons)

Many incidents have come to light in recent months of a sudden heart attacks in people, including celebrities, after doing vigorous exercise.

The doctor also said that people who had a severe form of Covid-19 need to take precautions.

According to the expert, it is difficult to predict heart problems in recovered Covid patients. But there are blood tests that measure inflammatory markers like ESR and High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hs-CRP).

These tests can tell whether any form of infection still exists in the body and how much the risk is. (KB/IANS)

post covid