Cardiac arrest can be the first manifestation of Covid, say docs

Hubballi: Covid-19 infection is not just a pulmonary complication. Doctors have warned that coronavirus infection is manifesting itself in heart-related ailments too. In many cases, patients who suffered strokes were found positive to Covid.
Diabetologist and cardiologist Dr GB Sattur said Covid may cause irregular heartbeats, heart blocks, and sudden heart attacks in some patients. Patients come with complaints of chest pain due to heart attack and the CT scans show ground-glass opacities and positive RT-PCR results.
Dr Shivappa Anirushettru, a cardiothoracic surgeon, pointed out that more elderly people died in the recent past due to heart attack and Covid could be the reason for these deaths. Since no swab testing was done it is difficult to confirm whether they were infected with coronavirus.
He advised people to quit sedentary lifestyle, continue the medication if they are hypertensive or diabetic, do regular exercises and follow a healthy routine.
Dr Suresh Patted, head, department of cardiology, KLES Dr Prabhakar Kore Hospital, said heart attack can be the first manifestation of Covid. “However, we can’t confirm it unless we do the test. Covid affects every organ of the body. Hence people should be more careful during the pandemic and without delay they should visit the doctor even if they sense mild symptoms,” he said.