We’ve know this for a while, but this is clearly a vascular, not a respiratory disease.
7 thoughts on “A New Virus Clue”
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We’ve know this for a while, but this is clearly a vascular, not a respiratory disease.
Comments are closed.
“A new cohort study out of West Virginia University suggests one piece of life-support equipment — an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine — can be especially useful for treating some of these COVID-19 patients. But ECMO may be less helpful for COVID-19 patients who are older, who have preexisting conditions and whose heart function has deteriorated.
The findings appeared in ASAIO Journal.
An ECMO machine works by pumping someone’s blood outside of their body, oxygenating it and returning it to the body. In this way, the ECMO machine gives the lungs — and sometimes the heart — time to rest and heal.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200518144933.htm
So, are these ECMO machine “good” at removing bubbles?
And if so, scrap ventilators and make enough of these ECMO machines ??
I have a research cardiologist friend who told me that one of the worst effects of the CCP virus is that it causes excessive coagulation, this results in clots that may appear anywhere in your body.
On our way to Arizona, we were forced to wear masks by the mask Nazis on American Airlines. I had been recovering from a terrible case of bronchitis, the worst I’ve ever had, but caused by a virus that was not corona virus. The lengthy flight with mask on brought it back, with a vengeance.
Upon arrival, I went to an urgent care center, got another course of methylprednisonal, and another corona virus test. It was negative, and I’m assuming that since my first test was negative, CDC will conclude that a double negative is a positive… but I digress.
Of the many hikes we’ve been taking, the highest elevation is at Snow Bowl ski area, north of Flagstaff. The starting point is at 9,300 feet. Now, I had been having problems catching my breath in Virginia, elevation 305 feet, so naturally I was a little worried about 9,300 feet. But the congestion in my lungs vanished at that elevation, and I had no trouble at all with the hike. When we were driving back to Flagstaff, I noticed that the lung congestion returned at about 8,000 feet.
We’ve been hiking all over the place, and the sweet spot for me seems to be 8,800 feet or above. I have a pulse ox meter, and I’m able to maintain 88% saturation and above at 8,800 feet or higher. At lower elevations, I’ve dropped below 80% on several occasions (once to 68% !).
Though Covid-19 might very well be a vascular, not a respiratory, disease, the extreme degree of the respiratory symptoms has been described in graphic, horrifying terms – and those were the symptoms I experienced with this bronchitis. (I never, ever want to experience anything like them again.)
It would be interesting to put Covid-19 patients in an altitude chamber, breathing pure oxygen, and taking them to 9,000 to 10,000 feet pressure altitude. If the degree of relief I experienced can be replicated this way, it would be well worth exploring further.
VERY intriguing about the congestion easing at high altitude! I’ve had bronchitis (my sincere commiserations, it’s miserable!) a few years ago, and that was in Florida (after a transatlantic airline flight, got sick the next day). I used to be prone to chest congestion with colds, and still am – but now that you’ve mentioned it, only at low altitude, near as I can remember. Never here. (I live at over 7000ft).
Definitely an interesting idea on the altitude/severity research angle, IMHO.
Wonder if it might be humidity that is your issue. Air dries out tremendously with altitude. Humidity seems to displace oxygen (and, I assume, other air components) in the lungs, which is why a humid day at the bay seems so oppressive, even when not especially hot.
Or I just hate humidity and it is not affecting you at all.
I don”t doubt that the humidity has had an effect. My lung congestion, BTW, is completely resolved. It may be a combination of elevation and humidity, but elevation has had an immediate and dramatic effect. I wish I could stay at 7,300 feet and above for the duration of the Covid crisis.
For my bronchitis case, my suspicion is that humidity played a role. I was in central Florida, it was July, and I was going in and out of my motel room a lot during the day (I was doing some auto repair work in the parking lot) – so, going from cold, dry air to hot, humid air, a lot. I believe this aggravated the condition.