Even a mild case of coronavirus could leave you with long-term organ damage
SCIENTISTS are warning coronavirus survivors that they may be left with long-term organ damage.
They say that while the patients' lungs are hit the hardest by the lethal disease - other vital organs and bodily systems are also hugely impacted.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
And those overcoming even mild Covid-19 infections could face further complications months after recovering.
There is growing evidence from China, where the virus originated, and from Italy, the first European country to report cases, that patients diagnosed with even a mild case of Covid-19 may be left struggling with long-term health problems long after the virus has left their bodies.
"What we have been seeing in hospitals is the tip of the iceberg," Professor Roberto Pedretti, head of cardiology at the Clinical Scientific Institute in Pavia, Italy, told Good Health.
"Our focus at the moment is treating patients at the acute stage to help them recover from Covid-19.
"But we also need to consider the future health impacts of the virus.";
Here, with their help of experts, we take you through some of the long-term effects of coronavirus...
1. Lung scarring
As many people will already know, coronavirus is a respiratory disease that has a huge impact on the lungs.
Many Covid-19 patients develop a form of respiratory failure called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which requires patients to receive oxygen via a ventilator.
suggest ARDS can significantly diminish people’s quality of life, even after they’ve recovered, as it leaves irreversible scarring in the lungs.
Several recent studies have highlighted the growing evidence that Covid-19 causes fibrosis - scarring of the lung tissue, which can lead to increasing breathlessness.
Some patients might have a drop of around 20 to 30 per cent in lung function
Dr Owen Tsang Tak-yin
A research paper published in a Chinese journal in March reported that "extensive'"evidence suggests that "pulmonary fibrosis may be one of the major [long-term] complications in Covid-19 patients".
This echoes findings of a study in Wuhan, China — the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak - where researchers analysed the CT scans of 81 patients with Covid-19 and found signs of fibrosis even in those who had had no symptoms, such as a cough or a high temperature (but who had tested positive for the disease).
In the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases in April, researchers said it was unclear if these lung changes were "irreversible".
Despite apparent recovery, "some patients might have a drop of around 20 to 30 per cent in lung function", says Dr Owen Tsang Tak-yin, medical director of the Infectious Disease Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong.
2. Liver damage
A new from China has suggested that many people who have been infected with coronavirus can develop liver damage.
Scientists analysed the blood test results of 34 Covid-19 patients over the course of their hospitalisation.
And their readings revealed that the recovered patients continued to have impaired liver function.
And that was the case even after two tests for the live virus had come back negative and the patients were cleared to be discharged.
3. Weakened heart
Covid-19 is also putting extreme stress on people’s hearts.
Scientists from Harvard University have dubbed the deadly disease “
They revealed that the inflammation and high fevers brought on by the coronavirus weaken the heart and increase the risk for cardiac abnormalities like blood clotting.
A paper in the journal JAMA Cardiology in March reported that one in five of 416 Covid-19 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China, had suffered heart damage.
The researchers also found problems could occur even in those without underlying heart problems.
Another study from Wuhan published in February found that of 36 patients transferred to intensive care, 16 (44.4 per cent) were suffering from arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats).
The heart problems are thought to occur as a result of the virus triggering a 'cytokine storm', where the immune system overreacts to the infection, leading to inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis).
As a result, the heart pumps more weakly, causing symptoms such as breathlessness.
4. Impaired mobility
Many Covid-19 patients will be left battling with cognitive and physical function in the weeks and months after leaving the hospital.
This is common in patients admitted to intensive care units because bed rest can take a serious toll on the body and people can experience muscle breakdown quickly when they’re stuck in a bed in the hospital.
A found that for each day a person was on bed rest, their muscle strength dropped from three per cent to 11 per cent over the following months and years.
Medics fear that the impact coronavirus has on mobility may be worse as the treatment recovery programmes in hospitals usually used to help patients get mobile again are not being delivered.
And on top of that, it takes coronavirus patients a long time to recover - usually about two weeks.
5. Continued shortness of breath
Doctors say coronavirus patients are likely to have persistent shortness of breath, even after they've recovered.
They say most of those who had severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) had shortness of breath for one month after infection - and this is likely to be the same for Covid-19 patients.
Dr Steven Berk, executive vice president and dean of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, told : "Those with SARS pneumonia had shortness of breath one month after infection. Most patients improved over time...
"Those who had developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remained short of breath for months or for a lifetime."
6. Mental health problems
Psychiatrists say that from looking at past coronaviruses it is likely many Covid-19 patients will go on to develop mental health problems including depression and anxiety.
In fact, a study of patients discharged after suffering SARS found that more than one-third reported depression and anxiety 12 months on.
“From the original SARS outbreak in 2003, we see that psychiatric illness is the most notable long-term outcome,” said Dr. Melissa Nolan, an infectious disease expert, and professor at the University of South Carolina.
"Including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression."
More on coronavirus
In general, health experts predict that the less inflammation a patient experiences, the less long-term effects they’ll have.
As Covid-19 is a new illness, experts are still grappling to understand the disease and the long-term impacts it may have.
Researchers will need to follow patients over time, and look for changes and in their hearts and lungs and other key organs, to see if the damage is long-lasting or if the body is able to make a swift recovery.
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS - STAY IN THE KNOW
Don't miss the latest news and figures - and essential advice for you and your family.
To receive The Sun's Coronavirus newsletter in your inbox every tea time, .
To follow us on Facebook, simply .
Get Britain's best-selling newspaper delivered to your smartphone or tablet each day - .