一项新的研究警告说，流感大流行可能导致心脏问题激增

一项新的研究警告说，流感大流行可能导致心脏问题激增

COVID-19 could take a massive toll on the health of hearts across the world. New research has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could cause a wave of cardiovascular problems in the coming years. Not only are the researchers concerned with how the virus impacts the heart, but also how the lockdown might have affected peoples’ wider health.

COVID-19可能对世界各地人的心脏健康造成巨大损害。新的研究警告称，COVID-19大流行可能在未来几年引发一波心血管问题。研究人员不仅关心病毒如何影响心脏，还关心封锁可能如何影响人们更广泛的健康。

Cardiovascular disease killed nearly 18.6 million people globally in 2019, a rate that has risen by over 17 percent from the decade previous. While this trend is set to continue regardless of the pandemic, researchers suspect that COVID-19 is likely to make things even worse. The new study, published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation, predicts the global burden of cardiovascular disease will grow exponentially over the next few years as a direct and indirect consequence of COVID-19.

2019年，全球有近1860万人死于心血管疾病，这一比例比10年前上升了17%以上。尽管无论大流行如何，这一趋势都将持续下去，但研究人员怀疑，COVID-19可能会让情况变得更糟。今天发表在美国心脏协会旗舰期刊《循环》上的这项新研究预测，作为COVID-19的直接和间接后果，未来几年全球心血管疾病负担将呈指数级增长。

As previous research has shown, COVID-19 doesn’t just affect the lungs, but also the kidneys, the gut, the brain, the skin, and the heart. A significant number of COVID-19 patients experience damage to their hearts, with some studies suggesting up to half of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who undergo a heart scan show signs of abnormalities in heart function. It’s not totally clear how the virus affects the heart, but it’s well-established that a viral infection can cause significant inflammation which can injure the heart. It’s also well-established that COVID-19 is associated with blood clots in some people.

正如之前的研究表明的那样，COVID-19不仅会影响肺部，还会影响肾脏、肠道、大脑、皮肤和心脏。大量COVID-19患者的心脏受到损害，一些研究表明，接受心脏扫描的住院COVID-19患者中，多达一半的患者表现出心功能异常的迹象。目前还不完全清楚病毒是如何影响心脏的，但已经确定的是，病毒感染会导致严重的炎症，从而损害心脏。众所周知，COVID-19与某些人的血栓有关。

Tom Hale

But the infection itself is only part of the story. The researchers were also concerned that many people have or will delay care or diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions as they want to avoid hospitals or healthcare systems overwhelmed due to a flood of COVID-19 cases.

但感染本身只是问题的一部分。研究人员还担心，许多人已经或将推迟心血管疾病的护理或诊断，因为他们想避免医院或医疗系统因COVID-19病例大量涌入而不堪重负。

"COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on human life worldwide and is on track to become one of the top three to five causes of death in 2020. But its influence will, directly and indirectly, impact rates of cardiovascular disease prevalence and deaths for years to come," Dr Salim S. Virani, chair of the writing committee for the 2021 Statistical Update and associate professor in cardiology and cardiovascular research at Baylor College of Medicine, said in a statement.

“2019冠状病毒病(COVID-19)已经在全球范围内造成了巨大的生命损失，并有望成为2020年的三大至五大死亡原因之一。直接或间接,但其影响将影响心血管疾病的患病率和死亡率,”Salim S. Virani博士，贝勒医学院心血管和心血管研究副教授，2021年统计更新写作委员会主席,在一份声明中说。

"Importantly, we also know people have delayed getting care for heart attacks and strokes, which can result in poorer outcomes."

“重要的是，我们也知道人们推迟了心脏病发作和中风的治疗，这可能会导致更糟糕的结果。”

On top of this, the social distancing measures and lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly changed the way many of us live. Generally speaking, people are drinking more, exercising less, under more stress, and are more susceptible to mental health challenges — none of which bodes well for a happy heart.

此外，与COVID-19大流行相关的社会隔离措施和封锁也深刻地改变了我们许多人的生活方式。一般来说，人们喝得更多，锻炼得更少，承受的压力更大，更容易受到心理健康挑战——这些都不是一颗快乐的心的好兆头。

"The extraordinary circumstances of dealing with COVID-19 have changed the way we live, including adopting unhealthy behaviors that are known to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke," explained Dr Virani. "Unhealthy eating habits, increased consumption of alcohol, lack of physical activity and the mental toll of quarantine isolation and even fear of contracting the virus all can adversely impact a person's risk for cardiovascular health."

维拉尼博士解释说:“应对COVID-19的特殊情况改变了我们的生活方式，包括采取了众所周知会增加心脏病和中风风险的不健康行为。”“不健康的饮食习惯、酗酒、缺乏体育活动、隔离隔离带来的精神负担，甚至害怕感染病毒，都可能对一个人的心血管健康产生不利影响。”

This isn't the only long-term global health problem that experts are concerned about. Earlier this month, a team of scientists also speculate that the COVID-19 pandemic could bring a surge of cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s diseases in years to come.

这并不是专家们担心的唯一一个长期的全球健康问题。本月早些时候，一组科学家还推测，COVID-19大流行可能会在未来几年导致认知能力下降、痴呆和阿尔茨海默病的激增。