Calgary researchers explore association between COVID-19 long-haulers, autonomic disorders
Dani Pohn, 37, caught COVID-19 in June 2020. Close to a year-and-a-half later, she is free of the virus, but still suffers long-term effects of the disease. She is what most people refer to as a "long-hauler."
"It's frustrating. I''ve lost a lot of the ability to live my day-to-day life the way I used to," said Pohn, a respiratory therapist. "The fatigue really limits how much I can do on a day-to-day basis. Activity wise, I'm unable to stand up as long as I used to and so that's really limiting."
The lingering symptoms of COVID-19 have kept her from her work at the Peter Lougheed Centre in northeast Calgary, where she would likely be treating COVID-19 patients.
"It's precluded my ability to go back to work, I find I have about two good hours on a daily basis, where I can focus and maybe do an errand or two. After that, I start to get quite fatigued. If I'm not laying down by 1 (p.m.), I feel absolutely sick. My heart is pounding, I'm flushed, I feel nauseous. I feel like it's difficult to get a breath in."
Pohn was part of the outbreak at a condo in Calgary's East Village. She describes her bout with the virus as mild to moderate and her symptoms included extreme fatigue, headaches and a loss of smell. The initial symptoms lasted less than a month. At that point, she was officially listed as "recovered" but though she was free of the virus, she was not free of its effects on her body.
"In about October (2020), my recovery plateaued and there was no more increase of the improvement at that time," said Pohn. "So it was around that time when I thought this might be longer lasting than I originally thought it would be.
“I reached a plateau and realized nothing was changing. I continued to feel exhausted, have shortness of breath and tachycardia that just hasn’t gone away."
Pohn is now seeking treatment at a Calgary long-haul COVID-19 clinic, the Calgary Autonomic Investigation & Management Clinic in the Cumming School of Medicine, which treats individuals suffering with autonomic problems like tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), unregulated blood pressure and fainting.
Pohn is now a patient advisor for a study led by Cumming School of Medicine researcher Dr. Satish Raj, who is investigating how individuals suffering with long COVID-19 seem to develop problems with their autonomic nervous system.
"The autonomic nervous system takes care of background functions in the body," explained Raj. "One of the challenges with saying 'Is it working or not?', is it affects almost everything. So things like heart rate regulation, blood vessel tone, breathing, sweating, sleeping, to some extent, bowel function, bladder function, all the things that we need to work for ourselves to function properly, but things that we don't want to think about."
Raj, who is also a clinician at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, has seen a noticeable increase in patients seeking treatment at the Calgary Autonomic Investigation & Management Clinic since the pandemic began. He is hopeful his research will lead to treatments for long-haul COVID-19 sufferers.
"The challenge is there are no evidence-based treatments for long-COVID or late COVID POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) because it's so new. There hasn't been time to do studies. But at the same time, from a patient point of view, it's not reasonable to say 'sit tight' or 'we'll get back to you in 10 years' because the patients are suffering right now.
"These are people in the prime of their life, highly functioning members of society who may no longer be able to contribute to the full extent of their training and prior ability."
The study is currently recruiting. If you have long-haul COVID-19 symptoms and are interested in participating in the study, you can find out more by emailing autonomic.research@ucalgary.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.