Apr 20, 2022 - COVID

Vanderbilt to study long COVID

Adam Tamburin

Illustration of a child looking at a giant covid virus casting a long shadow — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Vanderbilt University Medical Center received a $1 million grant to study COVID-19's long-term effect on the heart and cardiovascular system.

It was one of 11 pandemic-related grants announced last week by the American Heart Association.

Why it matters: About one in 10 people who recover from COVID develops chronic symptoms such as fatigue, chest pain and an abnormally high heart rate, per VUMC.

Some long COVID patients develop symptoms reminiscent of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which include lightheadedness, intense fatigue and high heart rate upon standing.
The VUMC team will test ways to reduce pro-inflammatory proteins that have been discovered in blood samples from those patients.

What they're saying: "Our goal is to discover new treatment pathways for this disabling disease," VUMC professor Cyndya Shibao said in a statement.

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Vanderbilt to study long COVID

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