Long COVID Syndrome Following Infection with SARS-CoV-2- A Devastating Influence on Health Status in Some Affected Individuals

Almost a year since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began causing COVID-19, our knowledge about its manifestations continues to expand. As more people become fatally ill with COVID-19, it is now clear that many patients who developed a mild illness, recovered from a serious illness, or had an asymptomatic infection are also beginning to suffer from a newly described entity called Long COVID. Studies show that show COVID-19 influences the cardiovascular framework, yet the general effects stay obscured. Impaired diffusion capacity, lower respiratory muscle strength, and lung imaging abnormalities are seen in COVID-19 patients in the early recovery stage. As compared to non-severe cases, severe patients had a higher incidence of Diffusion capacity of lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) impairment and are more prone to total lung capacity decrease and 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) decline. The degree and seriousness of long-term well-being outcomes remain unclear, yet increasing information points in the direction of poorer physiological outcomes. Long-term sequelae of COVID-19 will have enduring implications on those afflicted’s physical, mental, and social health while having a substantial monetary impact on society.