COVID IS A VASCULAR DISEASE
The coronavirus pandemic has been on going for 5 months now. And in that time most of people around the world have come to think that this is a respiratory illness.
Earlier I had pointed out that this is likely not the case. A recent news article seems to backing up my claim. I am no doctor, but I will confidently claim now that COVID is in fact a vascular disease.
VASCULAR NOT RESPIRATORY
The article presents the findings of various health care professionals, regarding cases of COVID that are not related to the respiratory system. The findings paint a picture that leads me to claim that this virus is in fact a vascular disease. They have essentially found that the virus attacks the lining of the blood vessels. This can leads to inflammation of the blood vessels, and can also result in the formation of blood clots. Apparently even in the smallest vessels.
Take a minute to think about the implications of this. Our vascular system is the main infrastructure of our bodies. It takes care of almost any thing requiring transport to and from our cells. It delivers all essential services, nutrition, oxygen, and provides the body with a transportation system for our immune system. Our vascular system also collects and transports waste from the cells in the body. There is virtually no place in the body that this system does not reach. So an attack on it is a very scary thing.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER
The coronavirus’ mode of transmission is using bodily fluids. It should therefor not be surprising that it spreads most commonly via our saliva. As a result the first system that the virus comes across is our respiratory system. Its attack on the lining of our blood vessels in the lungs leads to the COVID 19 respiratory illness. The response of our bodies is to contain the virus, resulting in mucus casting of parts of the lungs in its attempt to do so. If the reaction is strong enough, the victim needs help breathing and results in admissions in the ICU. If the reaction is not too bad, then the victim may recover.
But remember, the virus is not a respiratory illness. It just happens to be the first place it lands. If your body is not successful in keeping it under control it may end up else where in your body.
I propose that the virus essentially does more of the same anywhere it ends up. It attacks the inner lining of the blood vessels. The inflammation that can occur resembles Kawasaki’s disease, which has also been reported. While in some cases blood clots can form (small and large) which in essence explains everything else that has been found. Blood clots are the cause of strokes, pulmonary embolism, and even heart attacks, and if a clot end up in your organs it can cause organ damage. It can even be so bad that some people end up with multi-system organ failure.
This thing IS NOT A SIMPLE FLU. We need to get that out of our heads right now. A virus that attacks the vascular system, and has been shown to have mutated 40 times in the last 5 months is something that we all need to be concerned about.
DEATH
Statistically, for healthy people younger than 65 years old the chances overcoming the virus is above 98% (probably even higher). That is the good news.
However, if your body over reacts to the virus, regardless of your age, or level of health, the consequences can be anywhere from bad to death. If the body over reacts to the virus in the lungs, inflammation of the blood vessels and their subsequent encapsulating by the body can lead to damage to the lungs, and pneumonia and even death. This is by far the biggest cause of death. Over reaction to the virus anywhere else in the vascular system, leads to clots which can end up anywhere in the body, causing damage at those locations with a vast range of possibilities. For example there is the report of a clot blocking blood flow to the legs of a victim, requiring surgery to remove the clot in order to save the patient. Or there are instances of damage in the brain which can lead to neurological issues.
If I were to even contract this virus, then so be it. I will hold onto the fact that the vast majority of people come out on the other end without any permanent damage (that we know of so far). However, until that happens I will be mindful and do my best to shield my family of contracting this. End of the day there are those who are not one of the lucky ones, and it is not a risk I am willing to have my partner and children take.
Be safe, be mindful, and above all do respect the choices that others make with respect to their health. You might not worry as much, but someone else being very careful, keeping his/her distance, and wearing a mask is no laughing matter. People are dying after all.
Addition:
Since back in April it is known that the coronavirus targets the ACE2 receptors. Actually SARS affected the lungs as well in a similar was a COVID 19, and it was already suspected back then that it might target the ACE receptors. Apparently the ACE2 receptor is a very important enzyme though out the body the helps with blood pressure regulation by regulating the vascular system. This article here explains more about it.
So I am actually a little disappointed that if it was already known that the ACE2 receptors are used by corona, that there wasn’t already speculation that the virus would have a devastating effect on some people if it was able to get to parts of the body other than our lungs.