Covid after effects? Sharp rise in heart, respiratory emergencies

AHMEDABAD: The impact of Covid-19 on heart and lungs is well-documented as many patients suffered long-term implications of long Covid. While corona infections have nosedived, 2022 recorded a surprising jump in cardiac and respiratory emergencies.
EMRI 108 ambulance data for 2022 indicated that they registered five-year high calls for respiratory emergencies while cardiac exigencies were at three-year high.
Compared to average 65,000 annual calls for breathing issues in 2020 and 2021 in Gujarat, 2022 recorded 74,780 calls on EMRI 108.
Likewise, compared to average 43,000-odd cases of cardiac issues for 2020 and 2021, the last year recorded 56,277 cases. While the respiratory illness increased by 14% compared to four-year average (2018-2021), the spike was 10% for cardiac cases.
City-based experts conceded a rise in heart and lung emergencies. Dr Kamal Sharma, a city-based cardiologist, said that several studies have underlined the impact of severe Covid on the heart.
But I believe that there could be other traditional risk factors at play too – we see a 6-7% annual rise in cases driven by many factors. Moreover, confounding factors such as lifestyle and stress may also play a role. In our practice, we have seen a rise in patients compared to last year,” Dr Kamal Sharma, an Ahmedabad-based cardiologist said.
Dr Tushar Patel, a pulmonologist, said that after the second Covid wave, there were many patients of respiratory illnesses, and the trend of above average cases continued in 2022. “While some problems persist, I believe factors such as pollution and better awareness after Covid are also responsible,” he said.
The data also highlighted the five-year high vehicular trauma (accident) cases. Compared to the four-year average of 1.22 lakh, 2022 saw 1.46 lakh cases or 17 cases an hour. For diabetics, it was a difficult year with a 31% spike compared to the four-year average. Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot accounted for 35% or more than one-third of the 12.85 lakh emergencies in the state in 2022.