What’s Going On?
Let’s take a journey into the world of science and health. There’s a virus called COVID-19 that’s been affecting people worldwide.
Sometimes, even after people get better from the virus, they can still feel sick. This is often called “long COVID.”
The Houston Methodist research team in the United States made an interesting discovery about some heart problems that may happen because of long COVID.
The Heart and COVID-19
A team of doctors led by Dr. Mouaz Al-Mallah, a heart doctor at the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, found out some pretty important things.
You see, the heart has lots of tiny blood vessels, and these can sometimes get affected after a person has had COVID-19. This condition is known as “microvascular dysfunction.”
Some people who’ve had certain types of COVID-19, like the beta or delta variants, and who were really sick with the virus and had to stay in the hospital, might be more likely to have these heart problems.
But those who had the omicron variant were less likely to have this issue.
Why is This Important?
Our heart is like a super powerful engine that keeps us going. When it has problems, it can make us feel tired or have chest pain.
So, finding out which people might have these heart issues after COVID-19 can help doctors treat them better.
Dr. Al-Mallah suggests that those people who still feel chest pain or get tired quickly after they’ve had COVID-19 might need to have a special scan called a PET scan.
This scan can help doctors see how blood is flowing in their heart and whether there might be any problems.
A Silver Lining
Now, here’s some good news. The study found that these heart problems might go away on their own after about nine months to a year after the person had COVID-19. This means that with some time, the heart might heal itself.
The Bigger Picture
COVID-19 has affected millions of people around the globe. Even after people have recovered from the virus, many are still struggling with the effects of long COVID.
But the exact nature of long COVID and how to treat it is still a mystery for many doctors and scientists.
Dr. Al-Mallah and his team believe that more research is needed to understand better how COVID-19 affects the heart. The more we know, the better we can take care of people who have had COVID-19.
Final Thoughts
Remember, just because someone gets COVID-19, it doesn’t mean they’ll have these heart problems. Every person is unique, and the way the virus affects them can be different too.
So, let’s keep our fingers crossed for more breakthroughs and discoveries that will help us win the fight against COVID-19.
This interesting study was a team effort, with help from several other doctors and scientists, including Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Fares Alahdab, Jean Michel Saad, Yushui Han, Moath Said Alfawara, Malek Nayfeh, Maan Malahfji, Faisal Nabi, John J Mahmarian, John P. Cook, and William A Zoghbi.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about Vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19, and how diets could help manage post-COVID syndrome.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about new evidence on rare blood clots after COVID-19 vaccination, and results showing zinc could help reduce COVID-19 infection risk.
The study was published in European Heart Journal—Cardiovascular Imaging.
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