Serbian cardiologist warns: "Covid infection can leave lasting consequences on the heart"

Dr. Dragan Simic; Photo: Printscreen/Happy

Coronavirus can have lasting effects on the heart, according to cardiac examinations of patients who have had Covid 19. Cardiac problems can occur even in those patients who had a milder clinical picture of the Covid infection.

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Head of the Clinic for Cardiology of the Clinical Center of Serbia (KSC) Professor Dragan Simic told Tanjug that lately they have had an influx of patients with initial heart problems who had been infected with coronavirus.

"We have patients who had a mild form of Covid 19, who recovered, and now there are problems - rapid onset of fatigue, malaise, a feeling of shortness of breath. Examinations have shown that in a certain number of these people there are minor problems in the function of the left ventricular myocardium, and in a certain number of people we discovered more significant problems that are in a way unexpected," he states.

The first results of studies abroad, done on a smaller number of patients, showed that 30 to 40 percent of patients who had coronavirus now have heart problems.

A recent study by a Frankfurt clinic showed that 36 percent of patients who recovered from Covid 19 have problems and a weakness of the heart.

Photo: pixabay.com

"MRIs of the heart show changes that indicate inflammation of the heart muscle, which we see in patients who survived coxsackie myocarditis," says Simic and adds that it is therefore important that patients who have had coronavirus are monitored for a long time.

Not everyone who has has been infected with the virus will develop cardiovascular problems, but there is data that indicates a third may have these problems. This also surprised the doctors because the patients who were observed did not have a dramatic form of the Covid 19 infection.

Our interlocutor says that it is important for those cured from Covid not to exert themselves for three to six months, and limit their exercise only to light-paced walks.

Printscreen: YouTube/Cedars-Sinai

Simic notes that little is still known about the new coronavirus, as it is different from all viruses from its group.

"We will probably need more time to look at it better and overcome it. Huge money is being invested, studies are being done around the world, diagnostics and monitoring," he said.

He stresses that in addition to respiratory problems, the virus can cause gastrointestinal and neurological problems, but also changes on the skin.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)