COVID Coronary Artery Damage June 24, 2021 marked 384 days since I presented to the hospital with zero respiratory COVID symptoms—yet unmistakable signs of stroke and heart attack. At that moment, no cough existed. No fever appeared. No lung infection surfaced. Instead, COVID announced itself through my vascular and cardiac system.
Earlier, on June 3, 2020, my body collapsed without warning. Stroke-like symptoms surged rapidly. Chest pain radiated across my left side. Meanwhile, crushing heaviness overtook half my body. Overnight, sudden diabetes emerged. By morning, hospital testing delivered an unexpected result: COVID-19 positive.
Rather than respiratory distress, my first COVID diagnosis arrived as a vascular and coronary crisis—a pattern now increasingly documented in long COVID research.
COVID Coronary Artery Damage Before Science Had a Name
At the time, medicine lacked language for what was happening. However, today’s evidence confirms what many long haulers experienced firsthand: COVID coronary artery damage can precede, mimic, or masquerade as stroke and heart attack—often without immediate imaging evidence.
Increasingly, research shows that COVID disrupts endothelial function, destabilizes plaque, and damages coronary blood flow long before traditional diagnostics detect abnormalities. Consequently, early cases like mine were misunderstood, minimized, or dismissed.
COVID Is Not “Just the Flu”: Debunking Long COVID Misinformation
COVID-19 is not merely a respiratory illness. Instead, it functions as a systemic vascular disease with cardiovascular, neurological, metabolic, and immune consequences.
Even now, harmful myths persist. Long COVID patients are told they exaggerate symptoms. Critics selectively reference outdated CDC flu comparisons while ignoring mounting data demonstrating that COVID is statistically far more deadly than influenza, particularly regarding long-term cardiovascular risk.
That narrative is not only inaccurate—it is dangerous.
My Long COVID Journey: Surviving When the World Didn’t Understand
This is not an article I ever wanted to write—especially more than a year after my long COVID journey began.
As a COVID long hauler, I tried every strategy available to reclaim health. However, for months, I could not leave my bedroom. Breathing required effort. Thinking required recovery time. Sitting upright triggered dizziness, pain, or nausea. Meanwhile, I survived 32 hospital visits without health insurance.
From 165 Long COVID Symptoms to a Critical Few (By June 24, 2021)
By June 24, 2021, health insurance finally arrived. More importantly, my symptom list narrowed from over 165 documented long COVID symptoms to a smaller—but still serious—set of persistent conditions. Each now reflects COVID’s systemic and coronary impact.
- COVID: Kidney Stone Connection: I await surgical removal of a 10mm stone in my left Kidney causing daily pain
- COVID BLOOD IMPACTS: my white blood cell count is through the roof again, it stabilized for 5 months & surged.
- COVID Brain Attacks via Migraines continue, but Focus Factor Supplements or the Vaccine helped with brain fog.
- COVID POTS: Gastrointestinal issues eating less to avoid daily Nausea and Diarrhea post meal exhaustion
- COVID Hypertensive Crisis surged with Pain, however it is now under control except for stress related events.
- COVID Shortness of Breath cancelled Kidney surgery was cancelled for hypertension, ,breathing, and chest pain.
- COVID HEART ISSUES: I failed the stress test. Due to a myocardial perfusion apical heart defect, they didnt know if my heart could survive Kidney Surgery Anesthesia, so they ordered a second stress test.
COVID Heart Damage: The Stress Test That Changed Everything
Then came the moment that redefined my recovery trajectory.
I failed the cardiac stress test.
Physicians identified a myocardial perfusion apical defect—an area of the heart receiving insufficient blood flow. As a result, doctors could not confirm whether my heart could withstand anesthesia for kidney surgery.
Consequently, they ordered a second stress test—not because answers were clear, but because COVID had rewritten the cardiovascular rulebook.
This is COVID coronary artery damage in real life:
- No prior heart disease
- No traditional cardiovascular risk factors
- No classic respiratory COVID presentation
Yet despite all that, the heart was compromised.
Why COVID Coronary Artery Damage Is Frequently Missed
COVID attacks the cardiovascular system in subtle, delayed, and often invisible ways. Specifically, it damages:
- Endothelial cells lining coronary arteries
- Microvasculature that routine imaging overlooks
- Plaque stability, increasing delayed heart attack risk
As a result, patients may initially present with:
- Normal EKGs
- Unremarkable early imaging
- Abnormal stress tests months—or even years—later
This delayed presentation explains why so many long haulers were dismissed until science finally caught up.
The Truth Long Haulers Already Understand
COVID does not always announce itself with a cough.
Instead, it sometimes arrives as:
- A stroke without imaging damage
- A heart defect discovered too late
- A life placed indefinitely on pause
Still, progress continues. Healing remains possible. Knowledge keeps expanding.
Most importantly, stories like mine—shared clearly, consistently, and publicly—help ensure the next patient is believed sooner.
Other COVID Coronary Artery Damage Resources
- AARP Long COVID: 12 Most Common Post-Infection Symptoms
- Arrhythmia: Symptoms & Treatment
- Covid Broke HealthcareÂ
- Healthy JuicingÂ
- Coronary Artery Damage
- COVID-19 speeds up artery plaque growth, raising heart disease risk
- Heart Failure Wellness Plan
- Heart Issues
- Heart Problems After Covid-19
- How Covid AttacksÂ
- Long Covid Heart Failure
- LONG-COVID Gripping Heart-Health
- OmicronÂ
- SARS-CoV-2 infects coronary arteries- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
