New Northwestern study reveals alarming impact of long Covid on patients

CHICAGO - Northwestern Medicine is sharing some new findings about the impact of long Covid on patients.

The first of its kind study looked at Covid-19 patients cared for in-person and via telehealth since May 2020.

Over 1,800 patients were seen over 21 months from May 2020 until February 2022.

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Researchers at Northwestern Medicine found that among those tested, 85% reported decreased quality of life, 51% said they had cognitive impairment, 45% had altered lung function, 83% had abnormal CT chest scans, and 12% had elevated heart rate on rhythm monitoring.

"You will have many patients come to us still in good numbers to fill up our clinics with maybe the third, fourth, fifth infection, and now having finally developed post-Covid symptoms, not allowing them to fill up hospitals, ICUs and overflow but still with symptoms that are enough to be disabling to their lives as previously known," said Dr. Marc Sala.

Long Covid occurs in about a third of Covid survivors and is now the third leading neurologic disorder in the United States.