COVID-19 (coronavirus): efectos a largo plazo

The symptoms of COVID-19 can sometimes persist for months. The virus can damage the lungs, heart, and brain, increasing the risk of long-term health problems.

Most people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fully recover within a few weeks. But some people, even those who had mild versions of the disease, continue to experience symptoms after their initial recovery.

These people sometimes describe themselves as “long-term carriers” and the condition has been called post-COVID-19 syndrome or “long-term COVID-19.”

Older people and people with many serious medical conditions are the most likely to experience persistent symptoms of COVID-19, but even young, otherwise healthy people can feel unwell for weeks or months after infection. The most common signs and symptoms that persist over time include:

• Fatigue
• Difficulty breathing
• Cough
• joint pain
• Chest pain
• Other long-term signs and symptoms may include:
• muscle pain or headache
• Fast or pounding heartbeat
• Loss of smell or taste
• Problems with memory, concentration or sleep.
• Rash or hair loss

Organic damage caused by COVID-19
Although COVID-19 is considered a disease that primarily affects the lungs, it can also damage many other organs. This organ damage can increase the risk of long-term health problems. Organs that may be affected by COVID-19 include:

Heart. Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle, even in people who only experienced mild symptoms of COVID-19. This may increase the risk of heart failure or other heart complications in the future. future.

Light. The type of pneumonia often associated with COVID-19 can cause long-term damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to long-term breathing problems.

Brain. Even in young people, COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition that causes temporary paralysis. COVID-19 may also increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Blood clot and blood vessel problems
COVID-19 can make blood cells more likely to clump together and form clots. While large clots can cause heart attacks and strokes, much of the heart damage caused by COVID-19 is thought to come from very small clots that block tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the heart muscle.

Other parts of the body affected by blood clots include the lungs, legs, liver, and kidneys. COVID-19 can also weaken blood vessels and cause them to leak, contributing to potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidneys.

Mood problems and fatigue.
People who have severe symptoms of COVID-19 often need to be treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital, with mechanical assistance, such as ventilators, to breathe. Simply surviving this experience can make a person more likely to later develop post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, and anxiety.

Because the long-term outcomes of the new COVID-19 virus are difficult to predict, scientists are looking at the long-term effects seen in related viruses, such as the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Many people who have recovered from SARS have developed chronic fatigue syndrome, a complex disorder characterized by extreme fatigue that worsens with physical or mental activity but does not improve with rest. The same may be true for people who have had COVID-19.

Mood problems and fatigue.
Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time. However, the researchers recommend that doctors closely monitor people who have had COVID-19 to see how their organs are working after recovery.

Many large medical centers are opening specialty clinics to provide care for people who have persistent symptoms or related illnesses after they recover from COVID-19.

It is important to remember that most people who have COVID-19 recover quickly. But the potentially long-lasting problems of COVID-19 make it even more important to reduce the spread of the disease by following precautions like wearing masks, avoiding crowds and keeping hands clean.