Patients recovering from COVID-19 facing dizziness on standing symptoms: AIIMS Delhi-IIT Madras study

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], November 20 : A collaborative study conducted by All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Institute Of Technology Madras on the aftereffects of COVID-19 has found that patients who were recovering from coronavirus have blood pressure instability issues.
A team of researchers investigated how COVID-19 affected the normal blood pressure control mechanisms in patients who have recovered from mild COVID-19 disease.
"COVID-19 is known to produce multiple long-lasting health issues. Particularly important are
the long-term effects on heart and blood vessels in patients recovering from COVID. It has
been seen that patients recovering from COVID-19 have instability in their blood pressure and
they suffer from dizziness and palpitations when they stand up," the study said.
According to the study it was discovered that the blood pressure control mechanisms are compromised in these patients and these derangements were linked to the stiffening of large arteries where the sensors of blood pressure are located.
The study highlights the importance of monitoring the long-term cardiovascular health of
COVID-19 survivors.
In this regard, Dr Dinu S Chandran, the corresponding author of the paper who is an Additional Professor at the Department of Physiology, AIIMS Delhi said, "Our health systems and care pathways should be vigilant of the cardiac and vascular health of COVID survivors through periodic check-ups and monitoring using non-invasive methods."
The study was conducted in active collaboration with the Department of Medicine, AIIMS Delhi and the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
ARTSENS, the technology used for assessing arterial stiffness in this study is an Indian technology developed by IIT Madras.Dr Jayaraj and his team from IIT Madras are the inventors of ARTSENS
Dr Jayaraj Joseph, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at IIT Madras said, "ARTSENS, developed by IIT Madras, is a field-validated, non-invasive device for reliable quantification of multiple early markers of vascular structure and function. Having such an easy-to-use, image-free technology for vascular health assessment was a game changer in advancing our research in vascular ageing and can change preventive health practices in future."
"Surviving mild COVID-19 is associated with higher carotid artery stiffness and impaired arterial baroreflex sensitivity in the absence of any comorbidities. The inverse correlation observed between carotid stiffness and BRS--a finding more prominently and consistently observed in male COVID-19 survivors and not in females--might signify the association of post-COVID stiffening of barosensitive regions of central arteries in a sex-dependent manner with baroreflex dysfunction," the study concluded.