COVID-19 Program
Post-COVID
Diabetes & COVID-19
Diabetes & COVID-19. Researchers report that 40% of people in the U.S. that died from COVID-19 had diabetes. According to Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief scientific and medical officer for the American Diabetes Association, the risk of hospitalization and death related to COVID-19 is 6 to 12 times higher in people with diabetes.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiologic agent of COVID-19, can infect the heart, vascular tissues, and circulating cells through ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2), the host cell receptor for the viral spike protein. Acute cardiac injury is a common extrapulmonary manifestation of COVID-19 with potential chronic consequences.
COVID-19 & Cardiovascular
With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic entering its third year, the extrapulmonary impact of the disease has become increasingly evident. For the cardiovascular system, infection with the etiologic virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can manifest acutely and persist into convalescence and possibly beyond.1 Clinical outcomes are worse in patients with COVID-19 with cardiovascular disease and risk factors (eg, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity). Acute cardiac injury, inferred from elevations in cTn (cardiac troponin) levels, is reported in 8% to 62% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and is associated with greater disease severity, including the need for mechanical ventilation, and death.2–6
Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, evidence of acute cardiac compromise is common and includes acute heart failure (3%–33%),71–73 cardiogenic shock (9%–17%),74 myocardial ischemia or infarction (0.9%–11%),71 ventricular dysfunction (left ventricular [10%–41%], right ventricular [33%–47%], biventricular [3%–15%]),75–78 stress cardiomyopathy (2%–5.6%),75,77 arrhythmias (9%–17%),71,72,74,79 venous thromboembolism (23%–27%),73 and arterial thrombosis secondary to viral-mediated coagulopathy.80
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.121.317997
Diabetes Testing Centers™ helps medical providers offer our proprietary Post-COVID protocol program to patients.
Treatments
If You Have Diabetes:
Prepare in case you get ill
Make sure you have all relevant contact details to hand in case you need them
Pay extra attention to your glucose control. Regular monitoring can help avoid complications caused by high or low blood glucose
If you do show flu-like symptoms (raised temperature, cough, difficulty breathing), it is important to consult a healthcare professional. If you are coughing up phlegm, this may indicate an infection so you should seek medical support and treatment immediately
Any infection is going to raise your glucose levels and increase your need for fluids, so make sure you can access a sufficient supply of water
Make sure you have a good supply of the diabetes medications you need. Think what you would need if you had to quarantine yourself for a few weeks
Make sure you have access to enough food
Make sure you will be able to correct the situation if your blood glucose drops suddenly
If you live alone, make sure someone you can rely on knows you have diabetes as you may require assistance if you get ill
Keep a regular schedule, avoid overwork, and have a good night's sleep
Major Risk Factors
- Diabetes: Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes T1, Diabetes T2, and Gestational, COVID-19
- Hypertension
- Obesity
- High Blood Sugars
- High Blood Pressure
Competitive Advantages
- Automated
- English/Spanish
- Improve Quality HEDIS/STAR Ratings
- Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes T1, Diabetes T2, Gestational