Corona: warn doctors: Covid-19 can also harm the heart and kidneys

The abbreviation Sars-CoV-2 It represents the fact that the new coronavirus can cause a “severe acute respiratory syndrome.” However, four months after the virus appeared, it is clear that the pathogen can affect various organs; next Lungs that too Heartthat Kidneysthe Intestinepossibly even the brain. Furthermore, it is becoming clear that even in younger, previously healthy and apparently moderate course patients, the lungs can be severely affected. It is still unclear how permanent this damage is and if there is more.

Coronavirus: there is a risk of myocarditis

The effects of the infection can be particularly dramatic. Heart be – and even more so if someone is already in one Basic disease of the cardiovascular system. People with such a history are at increased risk of developing Covid-19 to die, they are disproportionately represented in difficult courses. Even Arterial hypertension looks like a Risk factor It is unclear whether this also applies to well-adjusted medicinal patients, as does the question of whether blood pressure drops belong to the group of ACE inhibitors negatively affect the disease. In Germany alone, around 16 million people take them every day.

In the meantime, however, signs of complications such as a Myocarditis even in Covid 19 patients no previous cardiovascular disease occur, and by no means rare. Scientists suspect that coronaviruses can spread to heart tissue through the blood or lymphatic system, and you could also imagine that it is attacked by massive inflammation. Also, a burden PneumoniaAs it can be caused by a crown infection, it makes the heart heavy because the blood vessels constrict and therefore increases the pressure against which the heart has to pump. Doctor Steffen Massberg of the Ludwig Maximilians University clinic in Munich estimates that between a quarter and a fifth of the 19 Covid patients who need hospital treatment have markers in the blood that indicate damage to the heart’s muscle layer. .

The coronavirus could facilitate the pathway to the heart for the enzyme ACE2.

The ACE2 receivers They are also the reason for fears that ACE inhibitor group antihypertensive drugs are for patients. Covid-19 it could make them more vulnerable. The current research results from the University of Frankfurt seem to support this suspicion. The scientists discovered that the viral input receptor is more present in the heart cells of patients treated with ACE inhibitors. However, the researchers also emphasize that no clear conclusions can be drawn from this, further studies are needed on the influence of these agents on the course of the disease. Basically, doctors warn against withdrawing ACE inhibitors out of fear.

The receptor is also found in the cells of the intestine, an invitation to the coronavirus.

The receptor is also found in a particularly large number in the cells of Intestine with its huge surface: almost inviting viruses. What complaints like Nausea and diarrhea Symptoms of a corona infection * are likely related.

Many patients also complain of a temporary Loss of smell and taste. or about Dizziness; they are comparatively harmless signs of a process that could have serious consequences. According to current knowledge, the corona virus can do this Nervous system It can even reach the brain through free nerve endings in the nasal mucosa.

In the American journal JAMA Neurology, neurologists report one incrise of cardiac frecuency in patients with Covid-19. However, it is not clear whether this is a direct result of the infection or whether it is due to the fact that people with Covid-19 are often at risk of having a stroke. The German Neurology Society is examining current publications on this matter. However, an increased risk of stroke also suggests that an infection may lead to an increase in blood clots, according to an article published in the Washington Post.

Many Covid patients have kidney damage

The newspaper also writes that half of Covid patients in New York hospitals arrive early. Kidney damage They were found. The New York Times reports 20 to 40 percent of kidney failure patients in clinics (with New York doctors struggling with a lack of dialysis machines). Even in the case of the kidneys, doctors do not know if the organ is a main target of the virus or if it is affected by the general poor condition of the patient. What is certain is that patients with Renal problems they have an increased risk of a severe course.

But even if the course is supposed to be mild, the virus can apparently have considerable long-term consequences. Covid-19 has been suspected for some time as a Pulmonary fibrosis Can imply. As a result of infection or long-term inhaled contaminants, connective tissue cells multiply, causing the lungs to harden. “We still don’t know if this is really the case,” says physician Steffen Massberg.

Coronavirus: disturbing findings from Austria

The latest findings from the University of Innsbruck Clinic sound worrisome. According to the Austrian APA news agency, doctors have “massive Changes in the lungs. found. “

Not all were serious cases, their illnesses are said to have been five or six weeks ago, they were considered clinically healthy. Six active divers were among these patients. Home quarantine He had healed. “The damage to the lungs is irreversible,” suspects Dr. Frank Hartig of the University Hospital of Innsbruck. “This is shocking, we don’t understand what is happening here.” The doctor does not know if the damage is permanent, but he fears it. Looking at the findings, it is difficult to “believe in a complete cure.”

It shows how unpredictable the new coronavirus is for medicine, and that the analysis of Mortality rates and high-risk groups. It should not be the only criterion for evaluating the dangerousness of the virus.

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