Smoking, diabetes, obesity more than heart disease factors in death of Covid

According to the study, a critically ill COVID-19 patient who is a frequent smoker and suffers from obesity and diabetes is more likely to die and worse outcomes than a COVID patient without such conditions.

The study was conducted by a team and published primarily in the journal Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The US University of Michigan team closely examined the outcomes of more than 5,100 COVID patients admitted to ICUs in 68 US health centers between March and June 2020.

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The study noted that patients diagnosed with heart disease saw a 30 percent higher mortality rate than critically ill COVID patients without a pre-existing condition. However, the relationship loses its importance when patients have other risk factors such as old age, gender, race, smoking, etc.

The study indicated that age, obesity and diabetes were more strong predictors of death due to COVID.

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“The fact that the association between heart disease and death was so reduced when accounting for comorbidities suggests that cardiovascular risk factors, rather than heart disease, account for hospital death in patients with severe COVID-19. are the main contributors,” said the senior author. Salim Hayek.

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In the research, 1,174 out of 5100 COVID patients had either pre-existing coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure or atrial fibrillation.

During the investigation period, about 34.6 percent of the patients died within a month and about 18 percent of them suffered a cardiac event such as heart failure or myocarditis.

According to the researchers, there was no significant association between such events and death in patients with pre-existing heart disease and those without such disease.

The researchers found that the presence of myocardial injury was related to cardiovascular events and death, regardless of whether a patient had pre-existing heart disease or not.

Myocardial infarction was normal in ICU patients as half of them had elevated troponin levels. Troponin is a protein that is released when the heart muscle is damaged due to any reason.

The researchers said in a statement that patients who had the highest troponin levels were nearly three times more likely to die than those without myocardial injury.

Hayek said, “While patients with severe COVID usually had symptoms of cardiac injury, our findings suggest COVID as a pulmonary disease with multi-organ injury related to systemic inflammation. Let’s reinforce the 19.”

“The evidence of heart damage we often see in patients with severe COVID-19 is a reflection of the severity of the disease and the stress on all organs, not the development of new complications or damage to an already existing heart. instead of exacerbating the disease,” he said.

Even though the study reveals a low association between heart disease and COVID deaths, the study’s co-first author, Alexey Vasbinder, suggests that the findings should not dilute the fact that heart disease patients may still be exposed to COVID-19. Due to the danger of death. -19. Mainly because such patients have a higher burden of disease risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.

He further said that the team is working on other studies that will help define the groups of COVID-19 patients at highest risk for serious outcomes, such as those who have had or have had heart failure. suffering from coronary artery disease.

Cardiovascular diseases are a common condition for patients who are critically ill due to COVID.

(with inputs from PTI)