Covid survivors have high risk of heart failure - Study

Health experts have said Covid-19 survivors are at substantially increased risk of heart attacks and strokes regardless of the severity of their initial illness.

Dr John Omagino, the executive director of Uganda Heart Institute, while commenting on a new report which put the risk of heart failure for Covid-19 survivors at 72 percent compared to those who have never suffered infection, said they are concerned.

He explained that the risk increases because Covid-19 also affects the blood vessels and “anything affecting the blood vessels affects the heart.”

“Some patients who have recovered from Covid-19, some of them have a chance of having heart effect and the end product is usually heart failure but it’s not necessarily that all of them will do that. It’s just to say that there is a possibility, it’s just a certain percent who can go that level, it’s not everybody,” Dr Omagino revealed.

Uganda has registered a total of 163,216 cases of Covid-19 infections from which 99,979 have recovered while 3,585 succumbed to the disease.

Dr Omagino was commenting on a report of a study done in the United States of America, which is based on an analysis of the health records of more than 11 million US veterans. The study was published this month in the academic journal Nature Medicine.

ALSO READ: Omicron variant no more severe than original strain: WHO

The study led by Ziyad Al-Aly at Washington University School of Medicine compared rates of new cardiovascular problems in 153,760 people who were infected with Covid-19 before vaccines became available, 5.6 million individuals who didn’t catch the virus, and a further 5.9 million people whose data was collected before the pandemic.

“We show that, beyond the first 30 days after infection, individuals with Covid-19 are at increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease spanning several categories, including cerebrovascular disorders, dysrhythmias, ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease, pericarditis, myocarditis, heart failure and thromboembolic disease,” the researchers wrote.

“These risks and burdens were evident even among individuals who were not hospitalised during the acute phase of the infection and increased in a graded fashion according to the care setting during the acute phase (non-hospitalized, hospitalised and admitted to intensive care),” the report reads further.

The report reminds us of the passing of Prof Christopher Magala Ndugwa, a renowned sickle cell specialist and paediatrician at Makerere University medical school, who succumbed to stroke last month after recovering from Covid-19, his family and Uganda Medical Association president, Dr Samuel Oledo confirmed. 

Health experts have also revealed that post-Covid complications go beyond heart-related issues. 

Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the executive director of Mualgo Hospital, told this newspaper the after-effects are either caused by psychological issues or actual damages to the body that may take time to wane.

ALSO READ: Uganda’s Covid-19 battle hit by ‘misinformation pandemic’

Dr Charles Olaro, the director of clinical services at the Ministry of Health, said all recovered patients who are experiencing the side effects can reach nearby health facilities for basic care and that complex cases can be referred by medical experts to specialised facilities.

“The long terms have been reported but the complexity of the condition will continue evolving with time. Right now, if they are chest complications, we get them to be reviewed by the chest physician in the hospital,” Dr Olaro said. 

Study population
The study compared rates of new cardiovascular problems in 153,760 people who were infected with Covid-19 before vaccines became available, 5.6 million individuals who didn’t catch the virus, and 5.9 million people whose data was collected before the pandemic.