While COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory disease, we now know that it will probably affect many parts of the body, including the center. And it’s possible that these heart problems could turn into long-term COVID symptoms that persist for months, a yr, and even longer.
So what are you able to do to maintain your heart healthy? We discuss the symptoms which will indicate a heart problem after COVID-19, when to hunt help and the different sorts of treatment.
What are the symptoms of heart problems after COVID-19?
There are several heart-related symptoms you might experience after COVID-19, including chest pain, shortness of breath, heart flutter, dizziness, sudden weight gain, and unexplained swelling of the legs or feet.
It is important to notice that these heart-related symptoms may also be signs of heart disease. AND big study shows that you’ll have an increased risk of heart disease if you’ve gotten recovered from COVID-19, especially if you happen to were hospitalized or in intensive care when you were sick.
So it is important to maintain a watch out for the symptoms below and make an appointment along with your GP if you happen to think you’ve gotten heart problems.
Below are the different sorts of chest pain, and it’s possible they might all be symptoms of long-term COVID.
Chest pain brought on by muscle pain
Pervasive muscle soreness could also be common with prolonged COVID and will affect the chest muscles. If muscle fatigue after COVID-19 is causing your pain, you might feel tenderness throughout your chest or in a particular area.
When muscles are the explanation for your pain, you might feel worse when stretching or turning your head. Such a chest pain also can occur while you start a latest exercise routine that uses your chest muscles, equivalent to boxing.
Since this pain is brought on by your muscles, it’s always nothing to fret about and will go away by itself.
Chest pain brought on by inflammation
Chest pain brought on by inflammation will likely be acute and worsens with inspiration. Often, the cause is inflammation of the lung mucosa. COVID-19 could cause inflammation of the center muscle, a condition called myocarditis. In response to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you might be 16 times more more likely to develop myocarditis if you happen to were sick with COVID-19.
In lots of cases, post-COVID-19 myocarditis is mild and most of the people don’t have any symptoms. But you’ll have mild chest pain with mild myocarditis. If the inflammation is more severe, it will probably cause severe chest pain in addition to other symptoms equivalent to palpitations, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
Depending on the severity of myocarditis and private health aspects, it will probably take months for the inflammation and associated chest pain to resolve.
Chest pain brought on by narrowing or blockage of the arteries
Such a chest pain resembles a sense of tightness or heaviness within the chest and is one of the vital recognizable symptoms of a heart attack. In some cases, COVID-19 could cause any such chest pain.
COVID-19 attacks the cells that line blood vessels, and if these cells are damaged, there’s the potential for blood clots to form throughout the body. Depending on their location, some blood clots can interfere with blood flow to the center, causing symptoms equivalent to chest pain.
Sometimes any such chest pain shouldn’t be related to the center. For instance, if you’ve gotten a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot within the lungs, it will probably cause severe chest pain that seems like a heart attack, even in case your heart shouldn’t be affected.
Each a heart attack and a pulmonary embolism might be life threatening. So, if you happen to experience heaviness or tightness in your chest, call 911 immediately.
Non-specific chest pain
Additionally it is possible to experience chest pain that shouldn’t be related to heart disease, COVID-19 or another medical condition. That is also known as non-specific chest pain. Non-specific chest pain might be dull or sharp, last for a moment or an hour, and appear in various places.
In the event you are experiencing unexplained chest pain that shouldn’t be brought on by exercise, track your symptoms and make an appointment along with your primary care provider.
In the event you experience heart palpitations after COVID-19, it might mean that your heart is thrashing too fast, fluttering or pounding. Your heart might be behaving strangely for a lot of reasons – it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve gotten heart disease. For instance, dehydration, exercise and stress can affect the center and the way in which it beats.
You normally needn’t worry if you’ve gotten palpitations now and again, unless you furthermore may produce other symptoms, equivalent to chest pain. But recurrent heart palpitations after COVID-19 could possibly be a cardiac arrhythmia, which is a bunch of disorders that affect the rhythm of the center.
In case your heart appears to be fluttering usually, concentrate to what you do when symptoms appear and make an appointment along with your primary care provider to talk along with your doctor. Most arrhythmias are easily treatable.
Shortness of breath after COVID-19
Respiratory problems equivalent to shortness of breath are possible after COVID-19. For instance, you might feel like you may’t catch your breath after climbing stairs, you may’t take a full breath, or you have to rest greater than usual.
There are different causes of pulmonary symptoms after COVID-19, and a few start with the center. Shortness of breath might be brought on by heart failure, a condition where the center doesn’t work in addition to it should. In some situations, the coronavirus weakens the center muscle, so it’s unable to pump as hard.
In the event you get extra fluid in your lungs on account of pulmonary edema during COVID-19, you will be more vulnerable to shortness of breath as a long-term symptom. Often the explanation for pulmonary edema is that the center is simply too weak to flow into the blood it gets from the lungs. This causes fluid to accumulate within the lungs and may make respiratory difficult.
One other possible explanation for shortness of breath is extreme fatigue brought on by the body’s labor fighting the coronavirus and recovering.
In the event you’ve been combating shortness of breath for greater than a number of weeks, it might be a superb idea to make an appointment along with your primary care physician.
Dizziness and lightheadedness after COVID-19
Dizziness and lightheadedness are long-term symptoms of COVID that might be signs of heart problems. But there are other explanation why you might feel dizzy or light headed after COVID-19.
COVID-19 infection can affect the brain and inner ear, making you more more likely to experience vertigo. As well as, dizziness might be brought on by many aspects, including dehydration, stress, and low blood sugar.
Often, these symptoms go away on their very own as they improve. Nevertheless, if dizziness and lightheadedness are accompanied by symptoms equivalent to shortness of breath, palpitations or chest pain, seek medical advice immediately.
Weight gain after COVID-19
Managing weight after COVID-19 might be difficult. Individuals who were seriously unwell should still be attempting to get back to a healthy weight 3-6 months after being infected with COVID-19. While others who’re recovering may gain weight because they haven’t got the energy to be energetic.
For weight changes to be an indication of heart problems, they sometimes should be sudden and significant. In case your weight is gaining 2-3 kilos in a day or 5 kilos in every week, make an appointment along with your primary care doctor – they’ll aid you discover the cause, whether it’s heart or something else.
Unexplained swelling of the legs, ankles and feet
Extra fluid sometimes builds up within the body’s tissues, causing swelling (also called edema). Mild swelling might be brought on by quite a few aspects, including medications, pregnancy, weight-reduction plan, and sitting too long.
But swelling may also be an indication of a serious medical condition, equivalent to congestive heart failure. If you’ve gotten congestive heart failure, your heart is not pumping efficiently, which could cause blood to pool in your lower body, causing swelling in your legs, ankles, and feet.
Often the swelling goes away by itself. But when the swelling persists for greater than a number of weeks, make an appointment along with your GP. Seek immediate help for swelling if other symptoms also occur, including chest pain, trouble respiratory, coughing up blood, fever, or skin that’s red and warm to the touch.
Scientists are still trying to find out why COVID-19 may cause everlasting heart problems. In the event you had heart problems before you bought sick, it’s possible that getting sick with COVID-19 could make them worse.
But you may have heart problems after COVID-19, even if you happen to did not have any problems before you bought sick. You are more more likely to have heart damage from COVID-19 if you happen to were seriously unwell with the coronavirus and required hospitalization with a ventilator. Heart problems also can occur after mild cases that didn’t require hospitalization – nonetheless, this is far less common.
Who to confer with about heart problems after COVID-19?
In the event you think you might be having a heart attack or other emergency, call 911 immediately. For ongoing care and management of cardiac symptoms, the perfect method to start is to make an appointment along with your primary care physician.
Treating COVID-19 heart problems
After an intensive evaluation, your doctor will recommend what to do in your post-COVID-19 heart problems. Their recommendations will likely include:
Being energetic
Regular exercise could make your heart stronger – half-hour most days is a superb goal. Ideally, your exercise program should include a mixture of cardio, strength training, and stretching.
Managing related conditions
Diseases equivalent to diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and obesity increase the chance of heart disease. Taking steps to administer these conditions could make a giant difference. So proceed to take any medications which have been prescribed. In the event you are chubby, attempt to lose a number of kilos – often losing 5-10 kilos is enough to start out making an impact in your cardiovascular health.
Cardiac rehabilitation
Your GP will likely refer you to a cardiologist to substantiate that your symptoms are clearly related to COVID-19-related heart problems and to find out a treatment plan. If there isn’t any energetic inflammation (myocarditis), your cardiologist may refer you for cardiac rehabilitation. There are two key points of rehabilitation:
- Education – You will find out about a wide selection of topics, including lifestyle changes, signs of overexertion, the importance of a heart-healthy weight-reduction plan, and suggestions for reducing stress.
- Exercises – Your doctor and therapist will work with you to develop an exercise program which you can do at home, on the gym, or at a cardiac rehabilitation center to strengthen your heart.
Get help in your heart after COVID-19
You might begin to feel normal again. In the event you think you’ll have heart problems after COVID-19, start by making an appointment along with your GP. Depending in your heart health and risk aspects, your doctor may recommend seeing a heart specialist or attempting cardiac rehabilitation.