Tamargo's personal heart troubles reflect an alarming pattern among some people who've had COVID-19: new research shows a significant increase in the risk of heart disease and serious cardiovascular problems up to a year after the initial illness. 'And she said, 'you need to go to the hospital,'' Tamargo says. It was someone from the cardiac monitoring company, which had been keeping tabs on Tamargo. 'I basically had to squat down on my heels in Manhattan because I couldn't breathe.' Her phone started ringing. Last year, about a year after first contracting COVID-19, she nearly collapsed while walking up a small hill in New York City, where she'd moved temporarily to seek out specialized treatment for long COVID. She has atrial fibrillation, a common type of heart arrhythmia that leads to an irregular, sometimes rapid heart beat. Robi Tamargo wears a smart watch to monitor her heart rate and other vital signs since she has had cardiac complications due to COVID-19. Then, three months later, her heart problems started. She had painful inflammation in the lining of her lungs. Instead, new ailments emerged as the weeks went by. At the hospital, doctors found a blood clot in her brain and were able to treat it quickly enough to prevent her from experiencing a more serious stroke.īack home, she weathered the initial illness without need for further hospitalization, but never actually bounced back to her former health. She woke up one morning in early May to discover the left side of her face was numb. Soon she was also sick, and it got bad quickly.

Tamarago, a clinical psychologist who used to serve in the Navy, discovered a patient of hers was infected. The 61-year-old had started running competitively in middle school, played Division 1 sports in college and kept up her exercise routine throughout her life, working out regularly at her local gym before work.īut that changed in the spring of 2020 - when she got COVID. Robi Tamargo never worried much about her heart. Robi Tamargo was hospitalized at MT Sinai's Beth Israel Hospital in New York City because of serious cardiac symptoms.

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