Doctors learning about COVID-19鈥檚 effects on the body are seeing signs of lasting damage in the heart that does not appear to be impacting overall wellness.
A study found inflammation on the hearts of coronavirus survivors detectable many weeks after apparent full recoveries.
鈥淎fter a COVID infection鈥RIs of the heart found small areas that lit up,鈥� said Dr. Ameya Kulkarni, an interventional cardiologist with Kaiser Permanente in Virginia. 鈥淪welling on the heart muscle later 鈥� maybe 10, 12 weeks or even beyond.鈥�
Though he wasn’t involved with the research, Kulkarni is .
鈥淭hankfully, at least for the moment, the suggestion is that clinically, it doesn鈥檛 mean much,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are no clinical consequences. So, patients are not having symptoms.鈥�
Still, Kulkarni believes doctors and former patients should be on the lookout for potential symptoms that might include swelling in the legs, shortness of breath doing previously-easy activities, using more pillows to sleep at night or waking in the night with shortness of breath.
鈥淲hat it means for us is vigilant caution,鈥� he said.
Former coronavirus patients experiencing anything out of the ordinary should consult their doctors.
鈥淢y mantra for my patients is that you never worry alone,鈥� he said.
Big picture, Kulkarni notes that one of the challenges of watching a pandemic unfold in real time is that data revealed in fits and spurts may seem correct initially but need to be put into context.
鈥淭his study, like every other study that鈥檚 come out about COVID in the past six months 鈥� we should view in that lens,鈥� Kulkarni said.
鈥淲hile we should have vigilant caution about symptoms that don鈥檛 make sense, we should also think about it as a potential way forward or a blind alley. I think both are important to think about.鈥�
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