Webinar on ‘Myths about Covid-19 & heart health’ held

Mohali: Speaking during a webinar on ‘Myths about Covid-19 and heart & vascular health’ today,  Dr. Harinder Singh Bedi, director of cardiovascular sciences at Ivy Hospital, Mohali stated that viruses are known to attack the heart and can cause viral myocarditis causing pumping chambers of the heart gets weak. It has come to light that the virus causes a reaction thus resulting in clotting in the small arteries and veins. The patients with pre-existing heart disease is in fact more susceptible to complications.
The webinar was organized by VN Patel Medical Institute Gujarat that was attended by over 1000 people across the country.
Dr. Bedi clarified that the presence of underlying diseases of the heart, lungs, or other major organs predisposes patients to more severe infection as well as increased risk of death. That does not mean people with heart disease are more likely to contract the coronavirus. It just means that these people are more likely to have complications once they do get it, he maintained.   
Clearing myths on the safety of heart valve surgery considering the spread of coronavirus, he said that it is very important to note that patients should not proceed with surgery if they are experiencing any virus symptoms.
Emergency surgeries need to be carried out with all due precautions and should not be postponed but not before confirming on COVID as the patient could be asymptomatic, he emphasized.
Talking about the myths of being infected after heart valve replacement surgery, he said that we now perform more valve-sparing repair procedures which entail using devices called rings. Thus one is not at increased risk for viral infections post-surgery, he asserted.
Dr. Bedi also gave tips on handwashing, social distancing, proper use of masks, avoidance of undue stress, the importance of proper diet, exercise both for the present times and even otherwise to remain the heart and vascular health smart .