Often, COVID-19 survivors develop not only unpleasant but also dangerous symptoms after an illness. We will tell you what disorders in the body can lead to postcoid syndrome, how to recognize them, and what measures will help to avoid serious problems and regain normal health.
By mid-September of this year, around the world were infected by a coronavirus more than 227 million people have recovered.
At the same time, recovery, alas, does not always mean that the covid is completely finished and you can live a full life again. For many people, its quality suffers seriously due to the "echoes" of the disease, which in medical language have already been called "postcoid syndrome". This condition is officially recognized as an independent health disorder and is included in the International Classification of Diseases under the code U09.9 3
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What is postcoid syndrome?
According to statistics accumulated in different countries of the world, this condition develops most often 1-2 weeks after the illness (COVID-19) and lasts up to six months. More than 30%, or at least every third patient, suffer from postcoid syndrome (PCS).
The main manifestations of PCS:
Dyspnea;
Disorders of the cardiovascular system (increase or decrease in blood pressure, increased heart rate, heart rhythm disturbances, etc. - see below for more details);
Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (in particular, digestive problems);
Skin lesions (rash, peeling, etc.);
Cognitive impairments (memory problems, difficulty concentrating, feeling "foggy", etc.);
Asthenic syndrome.
The latter develops especially often - more than half of those who have recovered complain of signs of the asthenic syndrome. Its first symptoms appear on average 1-2 weeks after undergoing covid, by day 30 they occur in 55% of patients and do not subside until the 110th day after recovery.
CHECK YOURSELF
How to know if you have the asthenic syndrome
Its most common symptoms are:
Muscle weakness;
Fast fatiguability;
Headaches and myalgia (muscle pain);
Manifestations of neurosis - from increased irritability to apathy;
Sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness
Decreased performance
Experts distinguish three degrees of severity of asthenic syndrome after COVID-19. How badly your health problems manifest and how long they last depend on several factors. The severity of the covid itself, the target organs, which were hit most powerfully by the disease (in particular, the degree of damage to the nervous system), as well as the patient's age, the presence of complications, and concomitant diseases, primarily chronic.
Here's how the severity of asthenic syndrome after COVID-19 is determined:
mild: feeling tired, weak, feeling fatigued, little trouble sleeping;
moderate: chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache;
pronounced degree: serious difficulties in performing mental work (up to the impossibility of performing it), severe problems with falling asleep, disturbing dreams. Any type of physical activity - from sports to housework - breathing problems, nausea, heart palpitations, tremors (tremors of the arms, legs, or the whole body) are possible.
SOS: THE BODY LOSES VITAL SUBSTANCES
The painful symptoms that occur in asthenic syndrome may be associated with the loss of essential trace elements necessary for the normal functioning of the body, experts warn. The most tangible harm to health is fraught, first of all, with a deficiency of potassium and magnesium. Let's figure out what signs can indicate a lack of these substances.
Potassium
According to statistics, its deficiency (in the medical language "hypokalemia") is observed in 20% of patients 6 who underwent COVID-19 and were treated in a hospital (usually, patients with moderate and severe covid are hospitalized).
A slight decrease in blood potassium levels usually does not cause acute symptoms. But if the potassium in the blood plasma falls below 3.5 mmol / L, serious problems may arise in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
They say that this happened:
Chest pain;
Increased blood pressure;
Anxiety-depressive syndrome;
Heart rhythm disturbances - up to ventricular fibrillation, that is, their inconsistent, fast, ineffective contractions caused by many chaotic electrical impulses. This pathology can be deadly.
In addition, potassium deficiency increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, since the lack of a trace element disrupts the processes of insulin synthesis in the body in the right amount.
Magnesium
This important trace element is responsible for the body's metabolism and affects the functioning of the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, and digestive systems. Magnesium is able to lower blood pressure, dilate blood vessels, and normalize heart rate and neuromuscular conduction. Magnesium deficiency is considered to be its level in the blood plasma of less than 0.65 mmol / l.
The consequences of a lack of magnesium in the body can be manifested by the following symptoms:
Dizziness;
Extreme tiredness;
Irritability;
Blood pressure drops;
Heartache.
IMPORTANT
In the treatment of postcoid asthenic syndrome, experts recommend taking medications containing potassium and magnesium.
"Panangin" helps to restore the required level of potassium and magnesium in the blood, thereby minimizing the symptoms of asthenia, improving well-being, improving the quality of life, and reducing the risk of complications in the work of the cardiovascular system.
For several decades, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have ranked first among the diseases that claim the largest number of lives worldwide. In 2019, the number of deaths from CVD in the world reached almost 9 million, accounting for 16% of all deaths in the world. cardiovascular disease was also the leading cause of death.
According to international studies, such failures in the work of the cardiovascular system are most often encountered in postcoid syndrome
H arusheniya regulation of blood pressure: it may be hypertension - a disease in which the blood pressure is consistently above the normal level of 140/90 mm Hg, and orthostatic hypotension - a condition when the pressure falls below 120/70 mm Hg. Art. when moving to an upright position, for example, when getting out of bed or sofa;
With erdechnaya failure: severe impairment, when the heart is unable to cope with the problem, not only during exercise but even if a person is at rest. This pathology is fatal. With postcovid, its debut or worsening of the course (decompensation) is possible.
NUMBER
In more than 30% of patients who have undergone COVID-19, problems with the regulation of blood pressure (BP) lead to hypertensive crises. That is a sharp jump in blood pressure, accompanied by dizziness and headache.
The main risk factors for increased blood pressure in postcoid syndrome are age over 60 years, overweight, concomitant chronic diseases (for example, diabetes mellitus).
IT'S PERFECT
When choosing a therapy, it is important to take into account the complex effect of drugs on all risk factors, experts emphasize. After all, the effect of drugs can affect the course of both the underlying disease and concomitant diseases in a particular person.
Recently, drugs that belong to the so-called class of fixed combinations have shown particular effectiveness. Thanks to the combination of several types of active ingredients, they are able to influence several risk factors at once, experts explain. In particular, such drugs can help normalize blood pressure and cholesterol levels at the same time. And also due to the lipid-lowering component in the composition (statin), inflammation of the inner lining of blood vessels, which often develops in moderate and severe forms of COVID-19, can be reduced.
SPECIFICALLY
Experts note the following advantages of drugs with triple combinations (two antihypertensives plus one lipid-lowering component):
Long-term maintenance of normal blood pressure values (within 24 hours);
Reducing the risk of complications in arterial hypertension,
Reducing high levels of "bad" cholesterol;
The convenience of taking the drug, which increases the adherence of patients to therapy: it is easier for a person to take only 1-2 tablets per day than to draw up and follow a schedule for taking several different drugs.
FACT
In clinical trials, fixed antihypertensive combinations have shown an increase in patient adherence to therapy by 21% and the duration of therapy by 54%, as well as reaching blood pressure targets by 30% more often.