COVID-19
COVID-19 and Heart Disease (Part 6)
Myocardial infarction (heart attack) In my last blogs, I explained that inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) or the sac around the heart (pericarditis) can occur as a result of infection with SARS-Cov-2 . However, the inflammation cascade that occurs with the virus can increase clotting and what is called as plaque rupture. This can…
Read MoreCOVID-19 and the Heart (part 5)
Pericarditis In my previous post, I explained the disease of myocarditis which can occur with COVID-19. Myocarditis involves the severe inflammation of the muscle of the heart leading the pump to fail. Pericarditis is a more benign condition that involves the inflammation of the sack around the heart ( the pericardium). Pericarditis is painful. The…
Read MoreCOVID-19 and the Heart (Part 4)
Myocarditis COVID-19 disease is a highly inflammatory disease that can affect both the muscle of the heart (the myocardium) and the sack around the heart (pericardium). If it causes inflammation of the myocardium, the condition is called myocarditis (myo= muscle, cardio = heart, itis= inflammation). Patients with myocarditis are very vulnerable and can develop heart…
Read MoreCOVID-19 and the Heart (Part 3)
Individuals with pre-existing heart disease Patients with pre-existing heart disease such as history of stents in the coronaries, history of bypass surgery, history of heart attack or stroke and history of congestive heart failure are at highest risk of dying from COVID-19. It is therefore imperative that those patients use utmost caution in wearing masks…
Read MoreCOVID-19 and the Heart (Part 2)
Individuals with risk factors for heart disease Those patients with underlying risk factors for heart disease such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, family history of heart disease and smoking are at higher risk for complications with COVID-19 and at higher risk of dying from it. If you develop COVID-19 illness that is asymptomatic or mildly…
Read MoreCOVID -19 and the Heart (Part 1)
How does COVID-19 affect the heart? In answer to that question, we have to look at two different populations. One group involves generally healthy individuals with no risk factors for heart disease and no pre-existing heart conditions and the other involves patients who are high risk individuals with underlying hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smokers and…
Read MoreTesting for COVID-19 (nuclei acid test and antibody)
Testing for COVID-19. The Panther Fusion® SARS-CoV-2 Assay There are currently two types of tests available for COVID-19. It is important to know the difference and the value of each test. The first test is to check for active infection. That is called a NAAT test (nucleic acid test). If you have symptoms of COVID-19…
Read MoreVirginia Statistics on COVID-19 This Week
Some good news for Virginia. State of Virginia number of cases.
Read MoreMortality Statistics of Covid-19
The reported mortality rate has varied across the world. China’s mortality is about 2-4% depending on the region. Iran is thought to be underreporting its mortality but even then data suggested 7-8% mortality. Italy had the highest mortality of 8-9% thought partiality related to the age of the population. Italy’s demographics is heavily weighted toward…
Read MoreSymptoms of COVID-19
The most common presenting symptoms of COVID-19 illness are fever, dry cough, shortness of breath and other common viral symptoms such as sore throat. The fever is very common, occurring in 88% of patients. But a small number of patients don’t present with fever and health professionals need to be aware of that. About 65%…
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