The SARS-Cov-2 virus causes respiratory symptoms that range from unnoticeable to fatal. After the virus is cleared from a person’s system and is undetectable in a nasal swab test, there are continuing symptoms of fatigue and weakness. That’s bad enough, but it is not the worst possible outcome. Damage to the heart could be a much more serious long-term problem.

Researchers in Germany recently published a report in the journal JAMA Cardiology. It reported testing of patients recently recovered from Covid-19. The results are sobering. Being declared free of the virus does not mean that you are back to the level of health that you had before infection.  100 patients were tested and compared to matched controls and healthy volunteers. 67 of the patients recovered at home and 33 recovered in hospital. In 78 of the patients, tests showed that in addition to the respiratory damage that had occurred, the heart and cardiovascular system were also involved. 60 patients had ongoing inflammation of their heart tissue. Even if the virus was completely gone, the damage that it caused remained and the immune response that your body mounted to fight the infection was damaging your heart, and quite likely other organs too, including the liver and the brain.

What’s the lesson here? It is that Covid-19 is a serious threat to human health beyond the active infection. Most, if not all, of the people who “recover” from a Covid-19 infection are not really recovered, where recovery is defined as a return to the state of health that the person had before becoming infected. There are residual damages, some of which last for months and others that last for a lifetime. Scarring in the lungs reduces capacity and does not heal. Scarring of heart tissue has also been documented in recovered Covid-19 patients.

Treat Covid-19 as the serious threat to your life and health that it is. Take all reasonable precautions to prevent becoming infected. This isn’t like a cold or flu. Covid-19 has changed the world and things are not going back to the way they used to be. A one-time infection could alter your life forever, in ways that you will not enjoy. If you have not been infected with Covid-19 yet, do everything you can to stay that way.

BIO:

Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org.