CHICAGO (WLS) One of the major mysteries of the COVID-19 pandemic is why some people who survived the infection continue to have symptoms months later. Now, the National Institutes of Health is launching a new initiative to study what the NIH director calls a constellation of symptoms suffered by a large number of COVID-19 patients long past the time they ve recovered from the initial stages of the illness. My heart rate was constantly elevated, and I, my breathing was bad as well, so it s I had a mixture of both, ICU Nurse Huda Amorah told the I-Team. And then COVID brain is real. For anyone who tells you know it is real, you have this like memory fog, Amorah continued.
My entire body and all the joints in my body were inflamed.
In a new study, researchers at Northwestern University were able to captured images of the long-lasting damage. What we have found is that in some patients with COVID-19, the virus triggers an autoimmune reaction. In other words, the virus tricks the body into attacking itself, said radiologist Dr. Swati Deshmukh. We don t know if this is something that is going to be for as long as I live, next year, two years, five years, said Hodzic.
What researchers do know is the virus has the ability to affect just about every organ system in the body. Long-haulers can experience issues with their brain, heart, kidneys or lungs putting them at risk for complications including heart attacks or strokes. They may also suffer cognitive and neurological impairments for months after the initial virus.