Long Haul COVID

What is Long Haul COVID (LHC)?
The CDC uses the term “Long Haul COVID” to describe post-COVID health issues that persist more than four weeks after a person is first infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.  Common symptoms include tiredness, fatigue, abnormal sleep, difficulty concentrating, loss of taste/smell, palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, joint or muscle pain, depression, anxiety, autonomic dysfunction, post exertional malaise, and/or fevers.

How Common is Long Haul COVID (LHC)?
It is estimated that  5% to 30% will experience symptoms 4 weeks after the initial infection. LHC more commonly affects older patients and middle aged females with the following underlying conditions:

  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Obesity
  • Smokers
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Immune suppressed

How Long Does LHC Last and Does It Ever Go Away?
We are still learning about LHC since it hasn’t been around very long.  LHC is variable in how long it lasts, and clearly lasts different amounts of time in different people.  Encouragingly, most symptoms tend to improve over time, although slowly.  Many people have reduction in their severe symptoms by 3 months, although persistence for over a year has been observed in about 20% of cases.

Are There Treatments for LHC?
Not yet.  This will likely change soon, however, for now, the primary targets are symptom related medications, for example Tylenol for headaches, Antihistamines for fatigue, cough medications, etc.

Our Research
We at the Respiratory Research Center conduct clinical trials for investigative medications and exercise rehabilitation for the treatment of Long Haul COVID (LHC). Qualified research participants will receive financial compensation for their time and travel, study-related medical evaluations, and the investigative study medication at no cost. Help advance medicine and medical research through participating in one of our clinical trials.

RECOVER VITAL Study

This is study evaluates the effect of 15 and 25 days of a drug (Paxlovid) compared to placebo in Long COVID patients with fatigue, brain fog, and autonomic function. Participants will be randomized to study interventions or placebo/controls based on the arms that are actively enrolling at the time of randomization. Study interventions may be added or removed according to adaptive design and/or emerging evidence. When there are multiple study interventions available, randomization will occur based on appropriateness of each intervention for the participant as determined by the study protocol.

RECOVER NEURO Study

This study studies the effect of cognitive retraining, goal management, and transcranial stimulation on brain function in Long COVID. This protocol is a prospective, multi-center, multi-arm, randomized, controlled platform trial evaluating potential interventions for PASC-mediated cognitive dysfunction. The hypothesis is that PASC-mediated declines in cognitive domains, such as executive function and attention, may be improved by interventions that selectively focus on enhancing those domains.

Other Resources

Learn more about Long Haul COVID and the current research

Respiratory Research Center

Learn More About Our Long Haul Covid Clinical Trials

Long Haul COVID Symptoms

  • Tiredness, fatigue, abnormal sleep, fevers
  • Difficulty concentrating, loss of taste and/or smell
  • Chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, joint or muscle pain
  • Depression, anxiety, autonomic dysfunction, post exertional malaise
  • Feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering or pounding heart.

More of Our Research Specialties

  • Exercise Training and Rehabilitation

    Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a supervised medical program that helps people who have lung diseases live and breathe better.

  • Muscle Weakness

    There are many reasons why individuals may lose strength, but in many patients with chronic heart, lung or kidney diseases the loss of muscle mass and strength is faster than normal.

  • Asthma

    Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing)

  • Unexplained Dyspnea & Exercise Intolerance

    Shortness-of-breath, or Dyspnea, is a common symptom that causes exercise limitation or “intolerance”. Breathlessness during exercise is often