Most individuals infected with COVID-19 experience a complete recovery within a few weeks. However, a portion of people, even those with mild cases, continue to suffer from symptoms after their initial recuperation. Termed "long-haulers," these individuals are affected by what is known as "post-COVID-19 syndrome" or "long COVID-19." These conditions encompass a range of health issues that persist for more than four weeks after the initial diagnosis of COVID-19. While older individuals and those with pre-existing medical conditions are more prone to prolonged symptoms, even young and otherwise healthy individuals may experience illness for weeks to months after infection.
Common lingering signs and symptoms of post-COVID syndrome include:
While COVID-19 is primarily recognized as a lung-related disease, it can also inflict damage on various other organs. Such organ damage can potentially lead to long-term health complications.
Heart: Imaging tests conducted months after recovering from COVID-19 have revealed lasting damage to the heart, even in individuals who experienced mild symptoms. This damage increases the risk of cardiac arrest or other heart-related complications in the future.
Lungs: The pneumonia commonly associated with COVID-19 can result in long-lasting damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to persistent breathing difficulties.
Brain: COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures, and Guillain-Barre syndrome (a condition causing temporary paralysis) even in young individuals. It can also elevate the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Some people, both adults and children, may experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which involves severe inflammation in various organs and tissues.
Blood clots and vessel problems: COVID-19 can increase the likelihood of blood cell clumping and clot formation. While larger clots can result in heart attacks and strokes, the damage to the heart caused by COVID-19 is often attributed to smaller clots that obstruct small blood vessels (capillaries). Blood clots can affect other parts of the body, including the lungs, legs, liver, and kidneys. Additionally, COVID-19 also can damage blood vessels and cause them to leak, which leads to potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidneys.
Problems with mood, fatigue
People who have severe symptoms of COVID-19 often need to be treated in a hospital's ICU with mechanical support, such as ventilators to breathe. Merely surviving this experience can make a person more likely to later on develop post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
Because it's difficult to predict long-term outcomes from COVID-19, researchers are looking at the long-lasting effects seen in similar viruses, such as the coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
Many individuals that have recovered from SARS have gone on to develop chronic fatigue syndrome, a complicated disorder defined by severe fatigue that worsens with physical or mental activity yet does not improve with rest. The same may be true for people that have been infected with COVID-19.
Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time, but research is ongoing. Researchers advise that health care providers carefully monitor people that have been infected with COVID-19 to see how their organs function after recovery.
Many large medical centers are opening specialized centers to care for individuals who have chronic symptoms or similar illnesses after they recover from COVID-19. Support groups are available, too.
It's important to keep in mind that most people that are infected with COVID-19 recover quickly. But the potentially long-lasting effects of COVID-19 make it even more important to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by following preventative measures. This includes wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds, getting a vaccine when available, and keeping hands clean.
For further information about Dr. Stengler’s practice and his clinic in Leucadia, California, please visit our website at MarkStengler.com or give us a call at (760) 274-2377
