Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:When they stop coming up with situations like this. It really is such a small thing for me to do to avoid possible terrible outcomes. I also floss and exercise 40 minutes a day.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/02/21/covid-cardiac-issues-longterm/
I can't get through the paywall but it appears it is about someone (possibly multiple someones) experiencing something like afib post-covid? What is the likelihood of this?
I wouldn't argue against anyone choosing to wear a mask-- some of my friends and family members are high-risk and will be wearing them during flu season forevermore, even if covid disappears, just because they've gotten accustomed to them and consider them a simple intervention-- but I do think the specter of longterm cardiac issues, while real, is being exaggerated. I know a lot of people who had covid, including at least 10 in my own extended family of all ages, including before the vaccines were available, and none are suffering from long-term issues. (In fact, the only person I know who has afib is a nurse who developed it immediately after getting the Pfizer vaccine. To me, arguing for permanent masking because covid could cause cardiac issues is like arguing against vaccines because they can cause cardiac issues-- both take very rare events, find multiple people who have suffered them to bolster their arguments and make them seem likelier, and deny the benefits of doing the thing they oppose. And yes, there are definitely benefits to not masking, even if you decide they don't outweigh the risks on a personal level.)
I don't care what others do , I'll keep wearing mine until they solve these mysteries.
"A pivotal study that looked at health records of more than 153,000 U.S. veterans published this month in Nature Medicine found that their risk of cardiovascular disease of all types increased substantially in the year following infection, even when they had mild cases. The population studied was mostly White and male, but the patterns held even when the researchers analyzed women and people of color separately.
When experts factor in the heart damage probably suffered by people who put off medical care, more sedentary lifestyles and eating changes, not to mention the stress of the pandemic, they estimate there may be millions of new onset cardiac cases related to the virus, plus a worsening of disease for many already affected.
“We are expecting a tidal wave of cardiovascular events in the coming years from direct and indirect causes of covid,” said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association.