COVID-19 symptoms can vary in different people, ranging from being asymptomatic to having deadly pneumonia. Though 80% of them have only the mild case of the disease, they can still take a severe toll even after recovering.
New evidence from China has reported that those patients with mild cases of the disease may be left struggling with long-term health problems after recovering. According to Professor Roberto Pedretti, Clinical Scientific Institute's Head of Cardiology, the scenario in the hospital treating coronavirus patients is just the tip of the iceberg.
"Our focus at the moment is treating patients at the acute stage to help them recover from COVID-19. But we also need to consider the future health impacts of the virus, said Pedretti.
Among these long-term damages is on the lungs, which Pedretti warns that it may cause health services worldwide struggle to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 survivors needing extensive rehabilitation to restore their quality of life.
While those with severe cases experience pneumonia, struggle to breathe, which could potentially cause the fatal condition of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Several patients affected are unable to breathe unassisted and may need to be put on a ventilator.
But even if they recover from ARDS, this will leave a scar on their lungs that leads to increasing breathlessness. This echoes the results of the Chinese study, which found that even those who showed no symptoms could develop pulmonary fibrosis.
Fit People Also Get Infected
According to a report from Daily Mail, patients who suffered worse due to the coronavirus does not necessarily mean they were in poor health before contracting the disease. Many of them were people who usually are not expected to be seen in the hospital as they are totally fit and well.
Yet, like other patients, they also suffer from lung problems. It is still difficult to know how well the lung recovers. But, some patients end up having long-term problems, according to Dr Noel Baxter, a general practitioner and a medical adviser to organizations such as Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation.
Due to this growing concern, the British Lung Foundation and Asthma UK have launched the Post-COVID Hub to put patients in direct contact with doctors. Their advice on its members includes techniques for coping with breathlessness and tips on how to break unhelpful habits.
Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the Heart
Growing evidence has suggested that some cases of the virus may affect the brain, which causes seizures and stroke, as well as the harming the liver, kidneys, blood vessels and other organs.
Furthermore, reports from various research papers have said that the virus could cause heart damage to the patients that could trigger a cytokine storm.
"COVID-19 can affect the cardiovascular system through multiple pathways," says Dr Mohammad Madjid, a cardiologist at the University of Texas. "The virus may directly affect the heart muscle, which may not work as strongly as it should, causing the heart rhythm to become irregular," he added.
