Uncertainty abides
Concerns over the extended effects of covid on human hearts has been making news. A recent study by peer-reviewed Nature Medicine, published in the app Smart News earlier this month, reports even mild covid-19 infections among the unvaccinated can prompt a risk for cardiovascular issues in the future.
The story found the unvaccinated who became infected with covid-19 had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular complications within the first month to a year after infection.
Cardiovascular disease, Stephanie Kaplan reports, is an “umbrella term that refers to various heart conditions, thrombosis and stroke,” according to the study. More alarming was the conclusion that even if an individual was never at risk in the past for a heart-related condition, an infection with the virus raises chances for future complications.
The numbers provided proved it’s not just one category of people at risk.
The study involved 153,760 people infected with the virus in 2020 or early 2021. That was before they had a chance to receive the vaccination, which also means the latest omicron strain wasn’t considered.
“We wanted to build upon our past research on covid’s long-term effects by taking a closer look at what’s happening in people’s hearts. What we’re seeing isn’t good,” said senior author Ziyad Al-Aly, M.D., according to Science Daily.
“Covid-19 can lead to serious cardiovascular complications and death. The heart does not regenerate or easily mend after heart damage. These are diseases that will affect people for a lifetime,” the doctor said.
Overall, those studied were 55 percent “more likely than those without covid-19 to suffer a major adverse cardiovascular event,” the article said.
That finding was enough for researchers to further emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated.
“Governments and health systems around the world should be prepared to deal with the likely significant contribution of the covid-19 pandemic to a rise in the burden of cardiovascular diseases,” the doctor added.
“Because of the chronic nature of these conditions, they will likely have long-lasting consequences for patients and health systems, and also have broad implications on economic productivity and life expectancy.”
What wasn’t addressed was any risk to those who developed breakthrough covid cases after being vaccinated.
Meanwhile, there’s more to discuss in the area of heart health and the virus’ potential effects among the vaccinated.
Millions of people in the United States have received covid-19 vaccinations under the most intensive safety monitoring in the nation’s history. That’s certainly reassuring to hear.
Jeanetta at 72 and me at 75 each have had three covid-19 vaccinations, making us anything but anti-vaxxers. I’ve come to believe the Pfizer shots we took provide considerable protection against suffering from severe covid-19 infection, potential hospitalization, or (as mentioned above) worse.
That said, and despite the intensive monitoring, I remain curious about possible lingering effects from vaccine injections ever since Jeanetta began feeling heart palpitations and center chest pain soon after her third shot.
She was down for about three days with significant after-effects that continued for weeks while I only experienced a mildly sore arm that lasted a day.
During a visit with a cardiologist three weeks ago, she was told that clinic was seeing many people with similar issues after being vaccinated. They told her it has become an all-day-everyday event to see such patients complaining of chest pain and irregular heartbeats.
Then, just the other evening on social media, a woman posted a meme that told of experiencing pains and palpitations after her second booster injection. That sent my ears perking even higher.
It also made the fourth reference I’d heard about troubling matters involving a person’s heart following covid injections.
I share this as one who is now wondering (with cause) just how many, if any, valued readers also might have endured similar heart issues after covid-19 injections. How rare are these side effects?
The only way I know to find out is to ask anyone who has been affected in similar ways to drop me an email describing their experience in detail.
Perhaps these instances are flukes and Jeanetta and these others simply had odd predispositions toward such side effects. Let’s hope so.
But one way I can get an idea of how widespread this post-vaccination and unanticipated phenomenon is simply to ask, right?
So my inexpert layman’s advice is to get the vaccine and boosters while remaining aware of what some patients and doctors are finding about subsequent experiences with potential heart issues.
Scammin’ the scammer
I suspect I’m by no means alone when it comes to Amazon scam calls, although Amazon has nothing to do with them.
It became especially apparent two days ago when the recorded message said I had suspicious charges of $1,500 on my account and asked me to touch 1 on my keypad to get detailed information from an actual human.
Voice in broken English: “Hello sir, could I have your name please?”
Me: “Well, I’d like to get your name.”
Silence …. Me: “Hello? Hello? Are you still there?”
Scammer: “Yes.”
Me: “Great. I need you to spell your name for me and provide your Social Security number. You couldn’t have known but you could be speaking with a federal fraud agent.” Scammer: Silence … more silence. Me: “Hello, I need your name, please.”
Silence … click.
Goodness of people
A few observations about this consciousness thing we were taught early on to refer to as life.
Just when the covid blues and dishonest destructive politics like we’ve never witnessed had me careening toward cynicism, a nice lady at a store invited me to go head of her in the checkout line since I only had a few items.
Then lo and behold, the same thing happened again two days later. And a third time today.
I’d say those seemingly minor events stemmed from something much larger than me sending a message not to lose faith in my fellow man and woman.
Instead of becoming distressed or depressed, take these kindnesses as a sign to pay such thoughtfulness forward at every opportunity. And that’s just what I believe it is: an opportunity.
Last weekend I slowed to allow two cars into the flow of traffic. As we headed north, I watched both those drivers do the same thing for others who’d been patiently waiting to enter the seemingly endless flow of shimmering chrome and exhaust fumes.
Later that day I watched as a customer at the cafe where we were eating asked the cashier to pay the breakfast tab for an older couple seated nearby. “That’s nice. Are they friends?” I asked the generous man.
“Nope,” he responded with a grin. “I just felt like doing something for someone other than myself today. It makes me feel good to be able to do that for folks I’ve never met.”
Not last!
I stay attuned to what others say about our beloved state in matters ranging from economics to social issues and education.
While I can’t vouch for their accuracy, I feel their findings (usually from polling and research) help us recognize how we are perceived across the nation.
The latest such report from personal finance website WalletHub measures 2022’s Most and Least Educated States across the country. East Coast states, including Massachusetts, Maryland and Connecticut, finished first, second and third in that order.
The bad news for us, but not as terrible as it could have been: Arkansas finished ahead of Louisiana, Mississippi (gawd love’em) and West Virginia as the least-educated states. Finishing 47th could be worse. Well, a little worse.
The report said researchers used 18 metrics to arrive at its conclusion. They also said they found a correlation between higher education levels, higher income and lower employment rates and higher rankings among the 50 states.
Massachusetts graded 24 times higher than Mississippi and South Dakota, the states with the lowest rating of 0.90 percent. That state also boasted the highest share of bachelor degree holders ages 25 and older with 43.7 percent. That’s higher than West Virginia’s low of 20.6 percent.
As for diversity in higher education, Maine showed the lowest racial gap in educational attainment with 27.47 percent of Blacks holding a bachelor’s degree, compared to 20.76 percent of their white counterparts. For those favoring percentages, that amounts to 6.72 percent favoring Black people.