Whether in public transport, in shops or on the street – in Switzerland almost nothing in everyday life reminds of Corona. The occupancy of hospitals with Covid patients is also low. But even three years after the start of the pandemic, the virus should not be underestimated. The late effects can be more insidious than expected.
Even patients who have had a mild course are not immune to risk. In the journal Frontiers in Neurology, doctors at the University of São Paulo describe the case of a 69-year-old woman who developed dementia after her illness. But an examination of the brain showed no abnormalities and the doctors had also ruled out a metabolic disorder as the cause. Is the sudden memory loss related to the corona infection?
A study, the results of which were published in the journal The Lancet, actually confirms this suspicion. An evaluation of more than 1.2 million cases has shown that the risk of neurological and psychiatric diseases such as dementia is still elevated up to two years after Corona. In the first six months, the risk of dementia is increased by 33 percent.
Heart attack after Corona
But dementia is not the only problem. Another patient had a heart attack three months after her infection, which she also survived well. The doctors at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center couldn’t find a plausible explanation for this other than the coronavirus.
In their publication together with the doctors of the University of Alexandria in Egypt, the scientists warn of an increased risk of a heart attack, cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure or sudden cardiac death – and this for at least one year after the illness. Large comparative studies would confirm the links. “Even in mild cases of Covid-19, long-term and close monitoring is required to diagnose late cardiovascular complications.”
An American study shows that in the year after the corona disease, cardiovascular disease occurred in 45 out of 1000 cases. Half were serious, writes the journal Nature Medicine.
Corona affects blood vessels
The most important finding of the specialists is that Corona is by no means just a respiratory disease. Many organs can be affected.
Central to this: the affected blood vessels. “The organs lose part of their function if they are no longer supplied with sufficient blood. This causes worldwide damage throughout the body,” explains the cardiologist and head of the cardiomyopathy department of the Berlin Charité, Carsten Tschöpe, to the “Spiegel”.
Dementia is also related to the blood vessels. For example, empty membrane tubes were found in brain studies of corona patients, says a professor at the Institute for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Lübeck against the Spiegel. “We suspect that the cells in the blood vessels have died at this point and that the empty membranes, which the blood can no longer flow through, are left behind.”
ETH scientist Tanja Stadler (41) also says in a Blick interview that Corona should not be underestimated. “As part of the waves, the virus can quickly infect a large number of people. Severe slopes are therefore common. With every corona wave, there is a high excess mortality in Switzerland. ” (Man)