Although almost two years have passed since the appearance of the disease responsible for the most serious pandemic of the last century, there is still much to discover. To date, the duration of all the health effects left on the survivors is not known with certainty. While now it has been announced that syncope is a new sequel to Covid-19. Although at first it may not seem very serious, it can actually be fatal.
What does it consist of?
In its most concise definition, it is transient memory loss and blackouts that occur at any time. In most cases it is due to a general cerebral hypoperfusion. Sometimes it is confused with epilepsy and therefore a specialist’s assessment is necessary to accurately identify the problem.
Now, based on the new studies, syncope is a sequel to Covid-19, although so far few cases have been identified. The downside is that when these types of incidents occur in everyday life, they affect both the patient and their environment.
Effects that they cause in patients
Faced with this discovery the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) plans to take strong action. One of his proposals is that survivors stop driving for at least five years after overcoming Covid-19.
One of the arguments is that if a fainting occurs while driving a car imminently there will be a crash. To date, traffic accidents are among the leading causes of death globally. That is why it seeks to prevent this type of incident.
The relationship between syncope and Covid-19 is not yet clear, but it is thought to be due to increased pressure in the chest. That reduces blood flow to the heart and causes a drop in blood pressure. In the end, some specialists agree that it should be classified as a sequel.
Now, although very few cases have been detected, the evidence indicates that there are some factors that increase risk in people. Specifically, if the person who has overcome Covid-19 has severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or asthma, they are more likely.
For now, research will continue to obtain more evidence on the origin of this sequel that affects quality of life. Whereas now the list grows and the duration that they may have on survivors remains to be defined. Although one of the fears of the medical community is that, in some cases, they can last forever.