Heart, neuro disorders on the rise in covid survivors

Doctors are seeing a higher-than-normal incidence of irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmias) inflammation of the heart muscle and increased rate of thromboembolism (blocking of blood vessel) in people who were Covid-positive.

This is prompting them to recommend moderate exercise, and not strenuous, high-intensity workouts, for people who have recovered from severe Covid.

World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said post-Covid, countries needed to prepare for large increases in cardiovascular, neurological and mental health disorders.


A lot of young patients are having myocarditis after Covid infections, said Nishith Chandra, director of interventional cardiology at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.

"They are definitely related to Covid," he said. Adding a word of caution for those who have had Covid, he said: "Anyone who has had moderate to severe Covid should look for symptoms of fatigue, breathlessness or palpitations. If these symptoms are present, then they should seek consultation from a cardiologist who should do an ECG and ECHO to rule out Covid-induced myocarditis. If treated in time, it can be reversed to a great extent."

Anurag Agrawal, former head of the Insacog laboratory consortium and chair of the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, said the trend of increasing cardiac events was being reported globally.

Joyeeta Basu, a physician from New Delhi's Lady Hardinge Medical College, said those who had recovered from Covid in the recent past should get a physical check-up before resuming training. This is especially for those who are training for marathons, long-distance runners and people who do high-intensity workouts, Basu said, adding that she had seen more cases of post-Covid arrhythmias in the 30-45 age group.

The mantra, doctors say, after Covid would be moderate exercise and not strenuous, high-intensity exercises.

Covid is leaving people sicker - susceptible to a range of medical conditions. Nutritionist Kavita Devgan said an increasing number of patients were having a badly affected gut, haywire sugar and thyroid cases due to stress and fatigue.

A recent analysis by the Financial Times showed a significant rise in deaths from heart disease since the start of the pandemic. The FT analysed data from the UK's National Health Service and found that in the 40-64 age group, heart attacks increased 15% in 2021 compared with 2019. Researchers also found that rates of many conditions like heart failure and stroke were substantially higher in people who had recovered from Covid.