As we now pass the anniversary of the first death of Covid registered in Scotland , 13th of March 2020, we are becoming more aware of the long term effects of those who survive the virus.

Some of those effects being reported are rapid heart rate, dizziness upon standing and light headedness consistent with a diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

There is no cure or standard treatment, for POTS but it can be managed with self-care and some medications.

Madeleine Johansson, MD, PhD, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmo, Sweden and is part of a team of researchers who have been investigating this.

She said:

“As reports of COVID-19 patients being impacted by long-term symptoms unrelated to their original diagnosis continue to grow, it’s important to raise awareness of POTS as a possible long-term complication.

“Much remains unknown about the specific mechanisms responsible for the POTS-like symptoms in post-COVID-19 patients or how long these symptoms will last, but chronic symptoms are expected in a subset of patients based on this initial clinical experience.”

There are other causes of POTS symptoms including dehydration, other infections, anxiety and anemia.

But this is yet another area for research as we deal with the long term health implications of Covid.

On 16th of March 2021 the stats for Scotland were as follows:

• 597 new cases of COVID-19 reported
• 17,208 new tests for COVID-19 that reported results – 3.8% of these were positive
• 7 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive 
• 42 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 440 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 1,943,507 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 170,892 have received their second dose

Since that very first death in Scotland on 13th of March 2020

• 9,725 deaths have been registered in Scotland where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate up to 7 March 2021
• 34% of COVID-19 registered deaths related to deaths in care homes, 60% were in hospitals and 6% were at home or non-institutional settings (as at 7 March)