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“Prolonged COVID” could be a combination of four different syndromes that affect the body at the same time, new research suggests.
Coronavirus Patients who still experience debilitating symptoms after seven months may be experiencing a combination of post-viral fatigue syndrome, intensive care syndrome, permanent organ damage, and long-term COVID syndrome, the researchers say.
The study, conducted by the National Institute for Health Research, warns that around 60,000 people could be living with COVID for a long time in the UK.
Children are also at risk, and there is no guarantee that those least vulnerable to COVID-19 you will not experience ongoing symptoms.
They include shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, “brain fog”, permanent organ damage, anxiety, and stress.
Some patients also experience a “roller coaster of symptoms” that “move around the body,” according to Dr. Elaine Maxwell, author of the review.
Others suffer from “floating” symptoms, affecting one part of the body for a time, only to be replaced by separate ones in a different area, he added.
Dr. Maxwell said: “The list of symptoms is huge and covers all parts of the body and brain.
“We think the term ‘prolonged COVID’ is used as a capsule for more than one syndrome, possibly up to four.
“People without a clear diagnosis told us that health services often do not believe them.
“There are people who never received support in the hospital, never had a test, they have no record of having COVID except their own personal history. They may be suffering much more than someone who has been ventilated for 21 days.”
He also warned that the number of people with long-term coronavirus symptoms is likely to increase as the pandemic continues.
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A separate study published in the British Journal of General Practice reported that long-time COVID patients are still struggling with simple tasks months after their diagnosis.
A 34-year-old woman who participated in the study said she needed a break after tasks like peeling vegetables.
She said, “I have to do one task, sit for 15, 20 minutes and then do the next one, which frustrates me. It’s like peeling potatoes, I can’t peel carrots right after.”
Meanwhile, there have been warnings about an increased number of those under 65 dying of heart disease as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The British Heart Foundation found that there have been more than 800 “excess deaths” from heart and circulatory conditions in England and Wales since the start of the UK outbreak.
This means that 800 more people have died from heart problems than the average in the last five years.
The charity is urging anyone with symptoms to get them checked out and for heart patients to be prioritized at the hospital when the second wave of the virus hits.
