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The pandemic is winding down, but ongoing, long-term effects of post-COVID symptoms are creating more questions than answers as the infection leaves some patients with lingering, cardiovascular problems including blood clots, abnormal heartbeats, and stroke.
What’s surprising is that people who are fully recovered from COVID are nearly twice as likely to experience these problems, including younger adults — and doctors are scrambling to learn why.
Not only that, but it’s also what they don’t know that worries them most. Will chronic infections like rheumatic fever add to long-COVID issues? Will millions of young people who previously had no signs of heart disease become permanent cardiac patients?
Or will COVID vaccination and milder strains reduce the risk of long-term illness? The bottom line, according to Time, is that COVID-19 left millions with some type of cardiovascular symptom, and even though you can’t change your disease status, you can make other positive, heart-healthy choices that can protect your heart, blood pressure and cholesterol while scientists search for answers.
SOURCE: TIME August 10, 2023