Cardiac problems can crop up any time; not only in the last stage of Covid, but also early & also after recovery

Hyderabad: Cardiac problems can stem up at any point of time; not only in the last stage of Covid, but also in the early stage and also after recovery one can have them. All cardiac patients who have been tested Covid positive should get vaccinated and avoid mass gatherings , stay indoors and try to follow Covid approved behaviour, says Dr M S S Mukharjee , Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Medicover Hospital, Madhapur, and director of Pulse Heart Centre, Kukatpally, in an exclusive interview with The Hans India.

Studies point that patients who recovered from Covid were more likely to have troubling cardiac signs, including structural changes to their hearts. Is it true?

Patients who have recovered from Covid have some cardiac signs. As some studies points that almost 8O per cent Covid-infected people showed some abnormality in their cardiac MRI, but this is not clinically proved . Clinically , some people can get cardiac ailment during Covid illness or some would get later. Whenever a patient who has all the risk factors for cardiac diseases if tested Covid positive after recovery need to have a heart check-up. If they have any discomfort in the chest they should consult a cardiologist to rule out cardiac diseases.

Black Fungus is another issue that is causing concern for Covid patients. Does it also affect heart?

No. Mucormycosis are of five types-

♦ First is Rhinocerebral Mucormycosis variety which affects brain.

♦ Second is Pulmonary Mucormycosis that affects lungs which is the most common form in patients suffering from Covid

♦ Third is Cutaneous. This affects skin

♦ Fourth is Gastrointestinal Mucormycosis, which hits digestive system

♦ Fifth is Disseminated Mucormycosis. This means the infection spreads throughout the body via blood stream. The infection usually affects brain, but can also target other organs, including spleen, heart and skin. But it is rare.

Do cardiac problems stem up in the first days of infection, even for those who are asymptomatic?

Cardiac problems can stem up at any point of time not only in the last stage of Covid but also in the early stage. After recovery from Covid one can have heart problem. For those who are asymptomatic if suddenly they are detected with cardiac problems; this may only happens in rare cases.

What are the silent signs of a Covid infection spreading to your heart?

If the person heart rate becomes too low or too high, if has breathing difficulty with chest discomfort or if there are any signs of increasing of blood through dendrimer , Troponin and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), these are blood parameters which can tell us asymptomatic involvement of infection spreading to the heart after the infection .

It is said that doctors still do not fully understand how SARS-CoV-2 causes heart problems, the extent of these issues, or whether this aspect of the virus should cause extreme concern. Is it true?

It is very true; we are still studying the involvement of heart problems in Covid. Though initially it was found to be much more higher incidence later on we are finding that the incidence are there. But for a few subset of people it has become severe and then this can occur suddenly. So we need to watch out for any symptoms of involvement of heart problems. Sometimes without any symptoms also heart problems can occur. As still it is not known to full extent of the involvement of heart in Covid. Maybe, as the times passes we can understand more better.