A recent survey by the Cleveland Clinic found that more Americans are suffering from pandemic fatigue and it’s having a detrimental effect on their heart health.
Respondents expressed a disinterest in following health healthy habits which, in turn, could negatively affect the heart.
“If people lose interest in keeping the healthy lifestyles it is going to create a problem long-term because once the arteries get blocked or once your high blood pressure creates a problem in the heart muscle, there is no way to reverse these problems easily,” said Dr. Samir Kapadia, Chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
Two out of five people surveyed said they’ve experienced a heart-related issue since the start of the pandemic.
Data has shown a definite increase in blood clot formation with COVID-19.
There’s also clear evidence that COVID can lead to irregular heartbeats or sometimes conduction problems inside the heart.
Treating A-fib
When it comes to treating an irregular heart, or atrial fibrillation, a clinical trial found that a particular type of ablation is safe and more effective as a first line of treatment.
Patients in the study received the standard medication for treating A-fib or a cryo-balloon ablation.
After a year, 75% of the people who had the ablation were symptom-free compared to 45%of those who only took medication.
Cleveland Clinic researchers said the FDA-regulated study suggests that ablation as a first treatment could ease atrial fibrillation symptoms longer and prevent the condition from getting worse.