<p>On Thursday, a 27-year-old woman was rushed to the ICU of Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, after she developed cardiac problems. </p>.<p>The woman had contracted and recovered from Covid-19 but had returned to the hospital with myocarditis and breathing difficulties, revealing a deadly facet of the virus. </p>.<p>Dr Ranjan Shetty, Chief of Cardiology at Manipal Hospitals, said that the woman had tested positive in the third week of August when she was subjected to a routine test shortly before a caesarean.</p>.<p>“She was asymptomatic. The baby did not have Covid-19. She was subsequently clear of Covid-19 after two weeks,” Dr Shetty said.</p>.<p>The case has once again highlighted the issue of the long-term effects of the contagious disease, with several hospitals confirming that they are increasingly seeing a large number of Covid survivors with “cardiac manifestations”.</p>.<p>Dr Shetty said her heart ejection fraction, which indicates how much blood is pumped per beat, had dropped from 60% to 25%. In normal people, this ranges between 50% and 75%. </p>.<p>“Importantly, her medical history shows that she had no previous heart conditions before contacting Covid-19,” Dr Shetty said, adding that physicians also had to employ a diuretic to remove fluid from her lungs.</p>.<p>This interplay between a healthy heart and breathing ability was underscored by several doctors who said that “lung functions will be affected if the heart is affected.” </p>.<p><strong>One-in-five face problems</strong></p>.<p>According to a recent paper by Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, as many as one-in-five hospitalised patients could face cardiac issues.</p>.<p>An unofficial survey conducted at Fortis Hospital found "cardiac manifestations" in 30% of 400-odd Covid-19 patients, according to senior cardiologist Dr Rajpal Singh.</p>.<p>These manifestations range from limited necrosis of heart cells to myocarditis and thrombosis, and what was noticed in the 27-year-old patient: cardiogenic shock or an often fatal inability to pump sufficient blood. </p>.<p>“While these are mild in most, in 10% there was an acute reaction with some suffering heart attacks,” Dr Singh said.</p>.<p>A committee sanctioned by the Minister for Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar to look into the long-term effects of Covid-19 may shed more light, but preliminary results were unavailable. </p>.<p>“The report is expected soon and this will help to make necessary modifications in our treatment protocol and post-Covid care. We have already introduced cardiac manifestation prevention drugs in the treatment prophylactically as per guidelines,” Dr Sudhakar said.</p>.<p>According to Dr C N Manjunath, Director of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, this “treatment protocol includes blood thinners which are introduced if d-dimers tests show thrombosis (clotting) in patients.”</p>
<p>On Thursday, a 27-year-old woman was rushed to the ICU of Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, after she developed cardiac problems. </p>.<p>The woman had contracted and recovered from Covid-19 but had returned to the hospital with myocarditis and breathing difficulties, revealing a deadly facet of the virus. </p>.<p>Dr Ranjan Shetty, Chief of Cardiology at Manipal Hospitals, said that the woman had tested positive in the third week of August when she was subjected to a routine test shortly before a caesarean.</p>.<p>“She was asymptomatic. The baby did not have Covid-19. She was subsequently clear of Covid-19 after two weeks,” Dr Shetty said.</p>.<p>The case has once again highlighted the issue of the long-term effects of the contagious disease, with several hospitals confirming that they are increasingly seeing a large number of Covid survivors with “cardiac manifestations”.</p>.<p>Dr Shetty said her heart ejection fraction, which indicates how much blood is pumped per beat, had dropped from 60% to 25%. In normal people, this ranges between 50% and 75%. </p>.<p>“Importantly, her medical history shows that she had no previous heart conditions before contacting Covid-19,” Dr Shetty said, adding that physicians also had to employ a diuretic to remove fluid from her lungs.</p>.<p>This interplay between a healthy heart and breathing ability was underscored by several doctors who said that “lung functions will be affected if the heart is affected.” </p>.<p><strong>One-in-five face problems</strong></p>.<p>According to a recent paper by Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, as many as one-in-five hospitalised patients could face cardiac issues.</p>.<p>An unofficial survey conducted at Fortis Hospital found "cardiac manifestations" in 30% of 400-odd Covid-19 patients, according to senior cardiologist Dr Rajpal Singh.</p>.<p>These manifestations range from limited necrosis of heart cells to myocarditis and thrombosis, and what was noticed in the 27-year-old patient: cardiogenic shock or an often fatal inability to pump sufficient blood. </p>.<p>“While these are mild in most, in 10% there was an acute reaction with some suffering heart attacks,” Dr Singh said.</p>.<p>A committee sanctioned by the Minister for Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar to look into the long-term effects of Covid-19 may shed more light, but preliminary results were unavailable. </p>.<p>“The report is expected soon and this will help to make necessary modifications in our treatment protocol and post-Covid care. We have already introduced cardiac manifestation prevention drugs in the treatment prophylactically as per guidelines,” Dr Sudhakar said.</p>.<p>According to Dr C N Manjunath, Director of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, this “treatment protocol includes blood thinners which are introduced if d-dimers tests show thrombosis (clotting) in patients.”</p>
