What Is Behind Long COVID? It Could Start with Blood Clotting Issues

• A new study finds that long-haul COVID-19, commonly referred to as “long COVID,” may be related to blood clotting issues.
• In the study, 50 people were reviewed for an average of 68 days after developing COVID-19.
• They found people with higher blood clotting markers were more likely to have long COVID symptoms.

While most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks, some people experience post-COVID-19 conditions that are commonly dubbed “long COVID” or long-haul COVID-19.

Post-COVID-19 conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that may be experienced 4 or more weeks after getting COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers still aren’t sure what causes these long-term symptoms.

Now, new research finds that people with long COVID show higher measures of blood clotting, which could help explain persistent symptoms, including reduced physical fitness and fatigue.

The study, led by researchers from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin, was published this month in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.