The pandemic has not gone unnoticed. In Russia, approximately 1.5 million people will develop hypertension, 400,000 will develop diabetes, and 200,000 will develop coronary heart disease. Moreover, young and middle-aged people from 45 to 70 years old will get sick. Such is the unfavorable forecast of scientists.
hypertension in young people
Researchers from different countries, including Russia, have monitored tens of thousands of people who have been ill with covid. He spoke about the results of the research Head of the Department of Internal Diseases and General Physiotherapy, Russian National Research Medical University. Pirogova, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the Eurasian Association of Therapists, Professor Grigory Arutyunov: “In the post-covid period, the incidence of arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus increases significantly. For diabetes – 2,000 new cases per 100,000 population. These are monstrous numbers. There are other, more rare problems, such as myocarditis, pericarditis (heart disease – ed.), thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis of the lower leg.
According to the expert, this is a “global trend”. There are a lot of analyzes for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases after the pandemic, and the results are the same for all scientists. There is a 63% increase in the risk of any cardiovascular event in patients who have had Covid.
The most alarming fact is that hypertension is developing again in young and middle-aged people (45-72 years old), especially those who have had moderate covid, had abdominal obesity (fat deposition in the internal organs). But in people over the age of 65 who have been ill, no new cases are recorded. Ischemic disease is detected in people 45-69 years old if they have had a hard time with the acute period of the covid disease. The situation is similar with diabetes. Cardiovascular diseases are associated with the fact that the virus very strongly affects the endothelium (inner lining) of the vessels, which leads, among other things, to the progression of atherosclerosis. And diabetes – with the fact that the beta cells of the pancreas are affected by the virus.
The pandemic has also led to an increase in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. “A fairly large number of toxic hepatitis, especially in the first three months after covid. This is a consequence of drug therapy, ”Arutyunov notes.
However, in the process of research, there were also unexpected discoveries. People who have been ill have elevated cholesterol levels.
Increased risk of strokes
How big is the problem? In Russia, for example, according to the latest data, more than 22 million people (15.3%) have been ill. This means that many are at risk of encountering new diseases.
Why do scientists insist that these are new diseases? They even name a figure – 18% of new diseases. After all, there could be a situation that people simply didn’t go to the doctors before, and after they fell ill with covid, they came and they were diagnosed. “It’s not like that,” Arutyunov explains. We have done a special analysis. We looked at people who had been to the doctor before, no matter for what reason. So it turned out that 73% of people had been to the doctor during the year before covid, and these diseases (arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease) were not detected in them. A disease that grows inexorably is strokes. And by 12 months there are more strokes than there were at the beginning.
At the same time, a change in the microflora under the influence of the virus (and this means a decrease in immunity), changes in the vessels will cause very delayed consequences. That is, covid can come back to haunt even a year after the illness or more.
For example, how has the pressure changed? “Regardless of age in the population, the level of systolic pressure (upper – ed.) during the first year of the pandemic increased by 2.26 mm Hg. Art. This is a monstrous number. This is an increase in the risk of stroke by about 7%. Automatic, says the professor. – In young people, the average increase was 6 mm Hg. Art.
But no new oncological diseases were detected in patients compared with the pre-COVID period.
The changes discovered by scientists are likely to affect life expectancy. “The disease will continue to keep its patients,” says Arutyunov. It has already been shown that mortality within 12 months after the disease is half the mortality in the acute period and 42% – cardiovascular death.
Source: aif.ru