The Official Definition
Long COVID is an infection-associated chronic condition that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least 3 months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that affects one or more organ systems.
Long COVID Manifests in Multiple Ways
A complete enumeration of signs, symptoms, and diagnosable conditions of long COVID would have hundreds of entries. Any organ system can be involved, and patients can present with the following:
Single or multiple symptoms, such as shortness of breath, cough, persistent fatigue, postexertional malaise, difficulty concentrating, memory changes, recurring headache, lightheadedness, fast heart rate, sleep disturbance, problems with taste or smell, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.
Single or multiple diagnosable conditions, such as interstitial lung disease and hypoxemia, cardiovascular disease and arrhythmias, cognitive impairment, mood disorders, anxiety, migraine, stroke, blood clots, chronic kidney disease, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and other forms of dysautonomia, myalgic encephalomyelitis–chronic fatigue syndrome, mast-cell activation syndrome, fibromyalgia, connective-tissue diseases, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s syndrome.
Important Features of Long COVID
- It can follow asymptomatic, mild, or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Previous infections may have been recognized or unrecognized.
- It can be continuous from the time of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection or have a delayed onset for weeks or months after what had appeared to be full recovery from acute infection.
- It can affect children and adults, regardless of health, disability, or socioeconomic status, age, sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnic group, or geographic location.
- It can worsen preexisting health conditions or present as new conditions.
- It can range from mild to severe and can resolve over a period of months or can persist for months or years.
- It can be diagnosed on clinical grounds; no biomarker that is currently available conclusively determines the presence of this condition.
- It can impair patients’ ability to work, attend school, take care of family, and care for themselves, resulting in profound emotional and physical effects on the patients, their families, and caregivers.
If you or someone you know is experiencing the symptoms or conditions described here, I hope this helps to clarify what is happening with your health or encourages you to get medical attention for your disease.
Cynicism and discontent with American health care systems seems to be at an all-time high. Many complaints are valid. Healthcare will never be a finished product. I would like you to take from reading this, however, that it was a patient-driven process. There are countless compassionate, caring, brilliant people, in many fields, working hard to advance health care. Their only motivation and goal are bettering the lives of those they serve — you, the public.