Covid-19 doesn’t just affect your respiratory organs (nose, throat, lungs) but also majorly affect your heart in more ways than one. So it is equally important to pay close attention to how your heart beats, whether the beats have gone up or down, and immediately consult a doctor.
This kind of vital information emerged at the fifth edition of the ‘Illness to Wellness’ series on ‘Heart Wellness During COVID-19’ organised by ASSOCHAM recently.
The most harmful feature of coronavirus is that it is uncertain, stated Padma Shri Dr Mohsin Wali, and added, “This virus either increases the heartbeat or decreases it, irrespective of whether you have fever or not. So, one needs to be aware of normal heart rate and any changes to it. The first symptom of this disease is no symptom. In some people, I noticed they would get tired easily. If we are alert about this stage, then we can be better prepared.”
There are multiple ways in which the heart can get affected by COVID-19, said Padma Bhushan Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.
“The heart can be affected even in people with mild symptoms. In young people, the virus can form clots in lungs leading to breathlessness, low blood pressure or even stroke. Or it can cause inflammation of heart muscles and thereby reduce its pumping efficiency,” he explained.
Dr Wali advised people to seek help if they feel exhaustion. “It is not necessary that you will develop symptoms like fever, cough or severe pneumonia. These may or may not be there,” he said, adding that in young working people changes in the chest have been seen despite them reporting covid negative.
The doctors also advocated the consumption of a healthy and nutritious diet.
“Balanced food should involve all the seven colours of rainbow and six tastes of food in moderation and variety. Try to shun inflammation- causing food items viz sugar, rice, refined flour or oil,” said Padma Shri Dr KK Aggarwal, adding that the coronavirus has a tendency to accelerate inflammations.
“Even after weeks of recovery from covid- 19, a person may suffer from after-effects like exhaustion, joint paint, cough or inefficiency in performing daily activities,” added Dr Seth.
Be vigilant
The most harmful feature of coronavirus is that it is uncertain, stated Padma Shri Dr Mohsin Wali, and added, “This virus either increases the heartbeat or decreases it, irrespective of whether you have fever or not. So, one needs to be aware of normal heart rate and any changes to it. The first symptom of this disease is no symptom. In some people, I noticed they would get tired easily. If we are alert about this stage, then we can be better prepared.”