Why heart hurts with coronavirus and what to do

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

COVID-19, penetrating into the human body, negatively affects all its systems. In this case, the symptoms of the disease appear depending on the affected area. To find out why the heart hurts with coronavirus and what to do, it is necessary to find out how the pathogen affects this organ.

Causes of pain in the heart after Covid-19

At the beginning of the pandemic, doctors believed that COVID-19 affects only lung tissue, and other diseases that appear against its background are just complications of chronic pathologies.

But in the course of a number of studies, it turned out that the coronavirus spreads throughout the body through its interaction with a membrane protein (ACE2), which is found in almost all tissues.

As a result of their symbiosis, the activity of different body systems is disrupted, which explains the variability of the disease picture:

• Damage to the nervous system. It is manifested by a lack of smell and taste. In some patients, a depressive state is diagnosed, thoughts of suicide appear.
• Lungs. Development of specific pneumonia, which does not show on x-rays. It can only be detected using computed tomography.
• The gastrointestinal tract. Coronavirus infects the mucous membranes of the digestive system, which causes nausea and diarrhea.
• Urinary system. Most often, with covid, it is the kidneys that are affected, which leads to the development or exacerbation of pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis.
• The cardiovascular system. It has now been revealed why the heart hurts with coronavirus. This is due to the fact that it has an extremely negative effect on blood vessels. This leads to autoimmune inflammatory processes, the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, vasodilation, as a result of which hypertension develops (in some cases up to hypertensive crises).

Scientists of the world are still researching the extent to which the cardiovascular system of COVID-19 is affected in comparison with other viral diseases. For example, the flu.

Risk factors

Which of the body systems will be most affected by the disease often depends on the presence of chronic pathologies. Complications are often prone to patients with the following health problems:

• autoimmune diseases;
• diabetes;
• obesity to any degree;
• pathology of the cardiovascular system (especially requiring the use of antiarrhythmic and antihypertensive drugs).

Also at risk are:

• men - due to a higher concentration in the tissues of ACE2 than in women;
• elderly patients;
• people taking drugs, one of the side effects of which is toxic effects on the heart.

In addition, cardiovascular pathologies can also develop in conditionally healthy people who have not previously had any chronic diseases.

Symptoms of damage to the cardiovascular system in coronavirus

Most patients who have had covid disease develop diseases of various body systems, including the cardiovascular system, within several months.

In order to start treatment on time, it is important to carefully monitor your condition and, if even one alarming sign of the development of the disease appears, immediately seek medical help.

The following symptoms can indicate problems with the cardiovascular system:

• a feeling of heaviness in the area of / u200b / u200bthe location of the heart;
• peripheral edema of the hands and feet;
• pains of a different nature in the chest area;
• arrhythmia;
• shortness of breath even at rest;
• frequent increase in pressure;
• feeling tired;
• decreased performance.

In some cases, hypertension and arrhythmia against the background of coronavirus go away on their own, after the walls of the vessels are restored and the blood composition is normalized.

Heart disease after COVID-19

To understand why the heart hurts with coronavirus, you need to know what diseases can appear, their main symptoms.

Myocarditis

One of the most common complications that appear after covid is inflammation of the heart muscle, which leads to the development of myocarditis and its other pathologies. You can suspect this disease by the following symptoms:

• tachycardia (increased heart rate);
• increased sweating;
• pain in the chest area;
• shortness of breath.

Against the background of myocarditis, heart failure can develop, which is dangerous because it often becomes the cause of death.

Arrhythmia

The rhythm of the heartbeats is disrupted already during the defeat of the body by the coronavirus, which is diagnosed in 55-60% of patients. It persists in 14% of cases even after recovery.

Arrhythmia is often one of the symptoms of the onset of myocarditis or heart failure.

Acute myocardial infarction

COVID-19 damages blood vessels and increases blood viscosity. This can lead to a heart attack, so even after recovering for several months, it is necessary to donate blood several times for tests.

First aid for pain in the heart

With discomfort in the heart area, it is important to know what to do and how to help the patient before the ambulance arrives.

It is necessary to act according to the following algorithm:

1. Provide the person with a half-sitting position.
2. Open windows and loosen clothes.
3. You can give the drug that the ambulance dispatcher advised.

Do not give a person with heart pains to drink, as this can put additional stress on the heart.

Outcomes

To reduce the risk of developing complications from the cardiovascular system after coronavirus, it is necessary to visit your doctor for several months. It is important to follow a healthy lifestyle - drink enough fluids, give up junk food and devote at least 15 minutes a day to sports.