According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with heart disease are six times more likely to end up in a hospital if they get COVID-19 and 12 times as likely to die from the virus.But those with moderate-to-severe cases are more likely to have lingering heart damage.鈥淧eople who are sick enough to go into the hospital with COVID-19, about 25% will have some evidence of inflammation of the heart,鈥� said Dr. Dale Bratzler, OU Medicine鈥檚 chief COVID-19 officer.That sounds scary, but it鈥檚 important to remember that many people who develop severe COVID-19 had heart issues before they got sick.鈥淲hat COVID-19 has done, it has unmasked what we knew already 鈥� which is that we are not treating hypertension well,鈥� Dr. Willie Lawrence said.Lawrence, who oversees a $32 million federally funded initiative with the American Heart Association, said the goal is to combat hypertension among racial and ethnic populations and, in turn, improve COVID-19-related outcomes. Hypertension 鈥� also known as high blood pressure 鈥� has been called 鈥渢he silent killer鈥� because many people aren鈥檛 effectively treated or don鈥檛 know they have it.鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing silent about a stroke. There鈥檚 nothing silent about being on dialysis. And there鈥檚 nothing silent about being hospitalized and dying alone with COVID in an intensive care unit,鈥� Lawrence said.Bratzler said the virus鈥� impact on the heart is being actively studied.鈥淚n two-thirds of patients, they actually found the virus in the heart 鈥� not necessarily in the heart muscle but in the inflammatory cells that were in the heart,鈥� Bratzler said. 鈥淩emember, we know that in COVID-19, the late stages of the disease are characterized by inflammation and immune response. So, it wasn鈥檛 surprising that they found inflammatory cells with the virus in the heart.鈥漈he CDC doesn鈥檛 currently recommend seeing a cardiologist post-COVID-19 for mild cases.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
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with heart disease are six times more likely to end up in a hospital if they get COVID-19 and 12 times as likely to die from the virus.
But those with moderate-to-severe cases are more likely to have lingering heart damage.
鈥淧eople who are sick enough to go into the hospital with COVID-19, about 25% will have some evidence of inflammation of the heart,鈥� said Dr. Dale Bratzler, OU Medicine鈥檚 chief COVID-19 officer.
That sounds scary, but it鈥檚 important to remember that many people who develop severe COVID-19 had heart issues before they got sick.
鈥淲hat COVID-19 has done, it has unmasked what we knew already 鈥� which is that we are not treating hypertension well,鈥� Dr. Willie Lawrence said.
Lawrence, who oversees a $32 million federally funded initiative with the American Heart Association, said the goal is to combat hypertension among racial and ethnic populations and, in turn, improve COVID-19-related outcomes. Hypertension 鈥� also known as high blood pressure 鈥� has been called 鈥渢he silent killer鈥� because many people aren鈥檛 effectively treated or don鈥檛 know they have it.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing silent about a stroke. There鈥檚 nothing silent about being on dialysis. And there鈥檚 nothing silent about being hospitalized and dying alone with COVID in an intensive care unit,鈥� Lawrence said.
Bratzler said the virus鈥� impact on the heart is being actively studied.
鈥淚n two-thirds of patients, they actually found the virus in the heart 鈥� not necessarily in the heart muscle but in the inflammatory cells that were in the heart,鈥� Bratzler said. 鈥淩emember, we know that in COVID-19, the late stages of the disease are characterized by inflammation and immune response. So, it wasn鈥檛 surprising that they found inflammatory cells with the virus in the heart.鈥�
The CDC doesn鈥檛 currently recommend seeing a cardiologist post-COVID-19 for mild cases.
