NPR: Clots, Strokes And Rashes. Is COVID-19 A Disease Of The Blood Vessels?

[Lady Freedom Returns]

Clots, Strokes And Rashes. Is COVID-19 A Disease Of The Blood Vessels?
November 5, 202012:02 PM ET
By Will Stone

Whether it's strange rashes on the toes or blood clots in the brain, the widespread ravages of COVID-19 have increasingly led researchers to focus on how the novel coronavirus sabotages the body's blood vessels.

As scientists have come to know the disease better, they have homed in on the vascular system — the body's network of arteries, veins and capillaries, stretching more than 60,000 miles — to understand this wide-ranging disease and to find treatments that can stymie its most pernicious effects.

Some of the earliest insights into how COVID-19 can act like a vascular disease came from studying the aftermath of the most serious infections. Those reveal that the virus warps a critical piece of our vascular infrastructure: the single layer of cells lining the inside of every blood vessel, known as the endothelial cells or simply the endothelium.

Read more @ https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/05/917317541/clots-strokes-and-rashes-is-covid-19-a-disease-of-the-blood-vessels

[Neema]

1. I thought it was established a few months ago

that it was a vascular disease, not a respiratory disease. It seems to make a lot of sense since it affects so many different parts of the body.

[Hugin]

2. Probably one of many manifestations of destruction.

I've been reading that due to the omnipresence and basic importance of the Ace receptors the COVID virus attaches to that damage from a severe infection can be on almost any organ in the body. Of course, those like blood vessels with higher numbers of the receptors will be the most prone to damage.

Even more nerve wracking is that some of this type of damage may be occurring in those who appear otherwise asymptomatic. Long term damage which might not become seen until much later in the patient's life.

[moof]

3. Many papers and articles suggest it is indeed impacts the vascular system

this seems why covid is able to cause issues anywhere in the body. Everything needs a blood supply so anything can be damaged. From the brain to toes to sight, hearing, smell and taste. Here is what i think is a good primer on covid's capabilities.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/09/how-the-coronavirus-hacks-the-immune-system