![]() Heart and lung function in the patients were normal. The researchers measured participants’ breathing, heart function, and blood oxygen levels. ![]() Petrache and other members of her research team studied 50 patients with long COVID as they rode an exercise bike in a lab at a low intensity. In a new report published in January 2022 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Mitochondrial Function - How the Body Makes Energy - May Be Awry in Long COVID ![]() They’re the batteries that run your organs and muscles - so when they are compromised, you become weaker and get tired faster. Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of cells because they produce energy for cellular metabolism. “Lots of folks are expecting answers more quickly than the speed with which we can provide them because of how new this is and how unexpected this new syndrome has been.”īut now, several recent studies are finding that patients with long COVID may have compromised mitochondrial function as a result of infection with the virus. “Most patients who suffer from long COVID were previously healthy and are extremely frustrated and exasperated by this condition,” says Irina Petrache, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the division of pulmonary, critical Care, and sleep medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver. Researchers have also reported that patients are being diagnosed with POTS after having COVID-19, according to a paper published in August 2021 in the journal EClinicalMedicine. Functional mobility impairments were among the most commonly reported long symptoms, along with neurological disorders, mental health disorders, and cardiac test abnormalities. Zeiger is not alone in suffering from long-term health consequences from a COVID-19 infection known medically as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or long COVID.Īccording to a review published in October 2021 in JAMA Network Open that analyzed outcomes of more than 250,000 people who had COVID-19 (collected from 57 studies), more than half reported lingering symptoms after one month, between two and five months, and after six months of becoming infected. Zeiger says, “I hope it is going to get better.” (She is the founder and CEO of the Canna Research Foundation.) Sometimes she couldn’t do her work as an epidemiologist. She was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition in which your heart starts to race when you stand up because of a problem with your autonomic nervous system’s ability to regulate blood flow. She says she also experienced light-headedness, fainting, and a rapid heartbeat. ![]() “I never felt fully recovered,” says Zeiger.įor four months after she contracted COVID-19 Zeiger says she was extremely fatigued and suffered from brain fog and severe migraines (which she had not had before). She developed widespread pneumonia in both lungs, and was prescribed antiviral medications and supplemental oxygen at home. That changed, however, when she got a breakthrough COVID-19 infection in July of 2021 despite being fully vaccinated against it. “I was fitter than someone else in the general public who didn’t spend their life as a competitive athlete,” says Zeiger. (Remember, the Ironman is no walk in the park it includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike portion, and 26.2-mile run.)Īfter her competitive racing days, she continued to run, hike, snowshoe, and cycle regularly. She won the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 2008. Zeiger came in fourth place in the 2000 Sydney Olympic triathlon and fifth at the Ironman World Championships that same year. Joanna Zeiger, 51, of Boulder, Colorado, used to be in great physical shape. ![]()
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