New MUHC study underway into COVID patients whose symptoms persist for months
The McGill University Health Centre is launching a study into people suffering from what has become known as “long COVID.”
While many who survive their bout with the virus see symptoms dissipate in a matter of days or weeks, others have seen the fight stretch on for months, often with serious complications.
“A lot of them have inflammation of the envelope around (the heart) and also inflammation of the muscle of the heart,” said epidemiologist and cardiologist Thao Huynh.
Since the pandemic started, Huynh has been on the front lines and has seen how for some unfortunate people, the symptoms have stayed with them.
“We found the most common symptoms are chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness,” she said. “Most of the symptoms are mainly due to heart disease and they often complain about trouble concentrating, the brain fog.”
Long-term symptoms have been observed in people of all ages, including people who had previously been in perfect health. That has resulted in some missed diagnoses.
One of the 200 patients in the MUHC's new study is Josee Laroche, who worked in a long-term care facility during the height of the pandemic's first wave. In September, she contracted the virus.
“I can't work, I sleep between 13 to 18 hours a day, depending on how much pain I'm in that day,” she said. “I never know how my symptoms will change during the day, so I could be okay for two or three hours and then, boom, rash all over my body, migraine... It's a constant. You never know what you're going to get in 24 hours.”
As part of the study, Laroche will have her cardiovascular and neuro-cognitive health monitored over a one-year period.
“I don't expect miracles, to be recovered 100 per cent, but if I can gain a little bit of quality of life, the ability to cook and do a little grocery shopping without being out of breath and in pain, that would be wonderful,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.