COVID-19 leaves behind long-term, hidden, chronic heart damage

“Health” (AKIpress) – COVID-19 leaves behind long-term, hidden, chronic heart damage.

Commentary by professor, cardiologist and oncologist Igor Pershukov.

Here is the text:

“The study “Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection onsubclinical myocardial injury in the general population: theTrøndelag Health Study”, published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (European Journal of Preventive Cardiology), revealed a dangerous signal in the blood of thousands of people. We are talking about an increase in the level of troponin, a protein that is a direct indicator of damage to the heart muscle.

Over the past decades, troponin has been used in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, when a significant increase in the concentration of troponin in the blood indicates to doctors the massive death of muscle cells in the heart due to blockage of the coronary artery. But troponin is not specific to the cause; if damage and death of cells in the heart occur for other reasons, then it also increases, although then the increase in troponin looks completely different.

This is exactly the type of non-coronary injury that Norwegian scientists announced. They made an important and very alarming discovery: COVID-19 can leave behind hidden, chronic heart damage – even in those who consider themselves completely healthy.

The study used data from the largest Norwegian project, HUNT, in which scientists observed almost 20 thousand people over several years. A comparison of blood tests before and after the pandemic showed a clear and alarming pattern: in those who had recovered from coronavirus, troponin levels were consistently higher for a long time.

Of particular concern to researchers and doctors in many countries is the fact that we are talking about so-called subclinical damage. This means that changes in most people occur over a long period of time without symptoms and without indicators going beyond normal limits.

Scientists warn that the consequences of the pandemic may be deeper than previously thought. The virus, which was considered a threat in the acute phase, is capable of leaving a long-term mark on the body – and this mark can appear years later.

If you have the feeling that the COVID-19 you suffered has left a lasting mark on you, but the doctors nearby cannot help you and figure it out, then try contacting specialists who are involved in research into prolonged COVID-19 and post-COVID syndromes.

And be healthy!