How Does Cardiovascular Disease Increase The Risk Of Severe Illness And Death From COVID-19?

COVID 19 is a new disease that’s caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. Based on the current clinical expertise and information, elderly individuals and those having serious medical conditions are at a higher risk of contracting the virus. People suffering from heart conditions, liver diseases and so on are more prone to this risk.

As per reports from China, around 80% of the coronavirus patients develop mind flu-related symptoms. This includes dry cough, body aches and fever that can be effectively handled at home with proper care. Around 20% will face severe symptoms like pneumonia where you may have to remain hospitalized. Out of this, a quarter of them may require care from the ICU. Initial reports mainly focused on the respiratory aspects of the virus which includes difficulty in breathing or pneumonia. However the recent studies have put forth that cardiovascular complications are taking place in 10% to 20% of the patients who are in the hospital.

Individuals having pre-existing heart issues when positive with COVID 19 develop a congestive heart failure or face heart attack. The rapid cardiovascular health failures is due to the severe viral illness and its enhanced effect on the heart. For instance, you will find that fever results in a rapid rate of heartbeat. It can also be due to the lower levels of oxygen caused by pneumonia and higher propensity for the blood clot formation. Other than the numerous heart issues, an unusual condition named myocarditis has also come up among the COVID 19 patients.

COVID 19 can trigger inflammation of the heart muscles:

Some coronavirus patience who seem to have a heart attack are actually suffering from inflammation of their heart muscles. This has been medically termed as Myocarditis. Here the electrocardiograms in positive individuals depict variations that may suggest a major heart attack. Also, the blood tests may show higher levels of troponin which is a cardiac enzyme that’s released when the heart muscles are usually damaged. This results in the heart muscles becoming weak and causing dangerous heart rhythms.

As per reports in JAMA Cardiology publications, Severe heart muscle injuries measured by the level of troponin has been mainly associated with enhanced casualties among coronavirus patients. However, it’s not clear if myocarditis is a result of the overactive immunity response or direct effect of COVID 19 on the heart muscles. Irrespective of the information available, you need to stay safe and follow the below measures to mitigate the effect of the virus.

Decrease the risk of becoming sick with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Keep taking your prescriptions. Avoid altering the treatment plan without consulting your physician.
Stock up a minimum supply of prescribed and non-prescribed medicines for up to two weeks. Consult your healthcare physician, pharmacist and insurance and get extra supplies of the prescribed medicines. Hence you can avoid going to the pharmacy frequently.
Never make any delays in receiving emergency care services due to COVID 19. In case you have any underlying diseases, emergency departments are fully equipped with a contingency infection prevention plans to safeguard you from getting the virus.
Converse with your physician to check if your vaccinations are up-to-date. Individuals above 65 years of age and those having severe underlying issues such as immunocompromised or severe liver liver issues must get vaccines for pneumococcal illness and influenza.
In case of any emergency assistance, feel free to call 911. Do inform your physician about your underlying medical concerns if you feel that you may have coronavirus.
Also, try to stay at home and limit contact with individuals as much as possible to avoid the risk if you already have severe health concerns.

Severe heart conditions:

Severe heart illness may include coronary artery disease, pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, heart failure and cardiomyopathies. Such patients are at a higher risk of getting COVID 19. This is because coronavirus can damage your respiratory system and make it hard for the heart to work properly. For those suffering from these heart conditions may encounter worse COVID 19 symptoms.

Measures to take:

Stock up at least one month supply of heart illness medications for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Remember to take the medicine as prescribed. In case of high blood pressure or heart failure, continue taking ARB (angiotensin-II receptor blockers) or ACE-I (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors). This is in line with the current medicinal guidelines.
Patients having hypertension should try to control their blood pressure by taking the medication as prescribed

Actions you need to consider if you have other severe illnesses:

Chronic lung illness:

Chronic lung diseases include idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary illness) like emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Based on the medical information available, COVID 19 can flare up these chronic lung issues resulting in severe fatality.

Measures to take:

Continue taking your medications, even the ones having corticosteroids.
Stay away from all sorts of triggers that can worsen your symptoms.

Chronic kidney disease treated with dialysis:

Chronic kidney concerns that are usually treated with the dialysis may enhance the risk of severe health concerns from coronavirus. This is because dialysis patients are usually prone to various infections and illnesses as they have very weak immune system. Hence it’s advisable to continue with procedures and treatments that will manage the kidneys from failures and curtail the coexisting conditions like diabetes.

Measures to take:

In case you feel ill or have any other health concerns, contact your physician or dialysis center immediately.
If you are undergoing dialysis treatment, never miss out on any treatments.
Make proper planning and store sufficient food at hand to adhere to the KCER 3-Day Emergency Diet Plan that essential for dialysis patients. This needs to be well maintained in case you are not able to do the normal treatment schedule.

Diabetes:

Both type one and type two diabetes or gestational can place individuals at greater risk of illnesses caused from coronavirus. Patients whose blood sugar levels are higher than the target level are more prone to suffer from diabetes-related health concerns. These health issues make it hard for individuals to overcome the coronavirus.

Measures to take:

Conduct blood sugar tests every 4 hours to keep track of the levels.
Keep taking your insulin and diabetes pills daily.
Hoard up minimum 2 weeks supply of the diabetes medications.
Adhere to the sick day guidelines of diabetes patients.

Moderate-To-Severe Asthma:

Moderate to severe levels of asthma can put patients at higher risks of contracting the virus. COVID 19 impacts the respiratory tract which includes the lungs, nose and throat that causes asthma attack. This may eventually lead to various severe diseases like pneumonia.

Measures to take:

Consume the current medication which includes steroids and inhalers and avoid the triggers.
Reduce the use of disinfectants that cause asthma attacks.
Adhere to the Asthma Action Plan.

Enhanced risk of serious diseases and fatality in cardiovascular patients having COVID 19

Around 10% of the patients having pre-existing heart conditions when infected with COVID 19 eventually die compared with the 1% who are healthy. This increased risk is also visible among coronary artery disease and high blood pressure patients. Few experts have reported that this might be due to the intake of certain blood pressure medicines like ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) and ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors.

Prevent The Infection

No special protocols are in place for higher risk cardiovascular patients to safeguard against COVID 19 exposure. However, these patients need to pay extra attention to follow the CDC’s recommendations. This includes maintaining proper social distancing and frequent hand washes. Moreover, you also have to get sufficient sleep, consume a balanced diet and have sufficient workouts to relieve stress.