Nobody’s risk is zero when it comes to CoVID-19, but it is not an equal-opportunity killer, being elderly, along with any other illness, increases the risk of fatality. Researchers are determined to find who is at a higher risk to treat it accordingly.
According to the research, people having diseases like heart problems, hypertension, kidney disease, and diabetes are at greater risk of dying. According to a report on patient characteristics from Italy’s National Institute of Health released on March 17, 99% of coronavirus patients who have died in the country had at least one preexisting condition. Nearly 50% of the patients who died had three preexisting conditions.
A subsample of 355 patients with COVID-19 who died in Italy underwent a detailed chart review. Among these patients, the mean age was 79.5 years (SD, 8.1), and 601 (30.0%) were women. In this sample, 117 patients (30%) had ischemic heart disease, 126 (35.5%) had diabetes, 72 (20.3%) had active cancer, 87 (24.5%) had atrial fibrillation, 24 (6.8%) had dementia, and 34 (9.6%) had a history of stroke. The mean number of preexisting diseases was 2.7 (SD, 1.6). Overall, only three patients (0.8%) had no diseases, 89 (25.1%) had a single disease, 91 (25.6%) had two diseases, and 172 (48.5%) had three or more underlying diseases. The presence of these comorbidities might have increased the risk of mortality independent of COVID-19 infection.
Nearly half of the population in America has high blood pressure, which makes them more susceptible to the dangerous effects of the coronavirus.
If you are a heart patient you have to take care of yourself, it has been observed that people with past heart issues are more likely to have severe symptoms, maybe because CoVID-19 strain puts on the lungs may burden the heart as well. Some heart patients are considered at higher risk of dying due to coronavirus; if you have had a transplant at any time or pregnant and have significant heart disease, you should protect yourself by staying at home and minimizing the contact with everyone for the next 12 weeks. This is called a shielding.
According to the American Heart Association, any cardiovascular condition can leave a patient more susceptible to severe symptoms from the CoVID-19 because people with heart issues tend to have a weaker immune system.
The American Heart Association and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised patients to take care of themselves and take precautions like wash your hands, keep om date on vaccinations and stay home.
According to AHA, at least 2.7 million people in America have atrial fibrillation, which is a quivering or irregular heartbeat leading to stroke, blood clots, heart failure, and other heart-related complications.
The British Heart Foundation says: “If you have atrial fibrillation, there isn’t enough information at the moment to tell whether it or other abnormal heart rhythm problems put you at higher risk from coronavirus. It seems likely if you have well-controlled atrial fibrillation, that your risk is lower than for the groups mentioned.”
The Patient who died due to CoVID-19, 25.6% had diabetes.
According to Helath.com, the condition may make COVID-19 worse because some viruses thrive on higher blood glucose levels, and people with diabetes also have compromised immune systems.
We know diabetes patients are more prone to infections and have severe outcomes. They don’t have a strong immune system and may have increased baseline inflammation and may also be unable to mount a response to an infection like others.
And the other dangerous thing is patients with diabetes type 2 come along with other multiple problems like heart problems and hypertension; all these things contribute to worsening the situation if the Patient gets infected.
Cancer and its treatments can impair the respiratory system and render a person immunocompromised. People having active cancer in the past five years can get severe outcomes too.
People who are taking steroids or chemotherapy may have more risk.
The National Kidney Foundation recommends that patients with kidney disease follow the same advice as to the general population: Stay home when possible, be diligent about handwashing and sanitizing surfaces, and make sure you have enough necessary medical supplies. If you are a dialysis patient, your underlying health condition(s) can put you at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19., dialysis patients should not miss their treatment.
CoVID-19 can attack the respiratory system and lungs; it causes the inflammation in the lungs lining and also in the air sacs at the bottom of the lungs that can lead to pneumonia. People having diseases like bronchitis or emphysema already have weak lungs to fight the infection, so they get serious outcomes leading to death.
According to the Stroke Association, a stroke itself doesn’t put a survivor in immediate danger of the coronavirus. However, many of those who experience strokes fall into other at-risk categories.
“You’re at greater risk of complications and illness if you are an older person, or have a health condition like heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease or chronic kidney disease,” the Stroke Association wrote in a statement. “
Dementia contributes to making symptoms of CoVID-19 more severe. Like older people forgetting to wash their hands or take precautions.
The Alzheimer’s Association advised the caretakers of these patients to take a few extra steps for their safety. Like, try to get an advanced supply of medications or post reminders everywhere in the house to wash hands, don’t touch the face, etc.
Chronic liver disease is another common disease found in people who died, the reason is unknown, but people with healthy organ has the risk of getting liver injury due to CoVID-19. People using immunos-uppressant are at higher risk of getting severe symptoms, but they should consult their doctors before taking any step to stop the regimen.