Patients with long Covid have higher blood clotting measures that explains the lingering symptoms such as fatigue and reduced fitness, according to a new study. Led by Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences researchers, the study has been published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
The symptoms of long Covid syndrome can last from a few weeks to several months following the initial Covid-19 infection and has been estimated to have affected millions worldwide. Fifty patients with symptoms of long Covid were examined to understand the involvement of abnormal blood clotting.
The researchers found significantly elevated clotting markers in the blood of patients with symptoms of long Covid than those with healthy control. Patients who required hospitalisation during their initial infection displayed a higher clotting marker. The study was also found that patients who recovered at home also had persistently high markers.
Long Covid symptoms include fatigue and lower exercise tolerance and breathlessness.
The researchers observed that symptoms of long Covid such as lower physical fitness and fatigue were directly related to higher clotting. Despite inflammation markers returning to normal levels, long Covid patients still displayed increased clotting potential.
The results suggest that the clotting system might be behind long Covid as patients with the symptoms displayed higher clotting markers despite inflammation markers returning to normal, PTI quoted lead author Helen Fogarty, a PhD student at the RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, as saying.
Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, RCSI, Director Prof James O’Donnell said the first step to develop an effective treatment was to understand a disease’s root cause.
Prof O’Donnell said millions were dealing with long COVID syndrome, adding that more people would likely develop long COVID as Covid-19 continues to infect the unvaccinated population.
He added that it was imperative to continue studying these conditions to develop effective treatments.
