Do heart patients suffer more during a cold – or does it just feel that way?

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

When people like me (i.e. living with heart disease) catch a cold or flu bug, do we feel sicker longer, compared to people who don’t have heart disease – or does it just feel that way? Asking for a friend. . .

It turns out that the common cold, the flu (influenza), nasal allergies, sinus infections, RSV, and COVID can all share some similarly yucky symptoms. But whatever it’s called, we just want those symptoms  to stop.

Back when I was a young Mum, I seemed to spend a remarkable amount of my life endlessly wiping snotty toddler noses while being mercilessly sneezed and coughed upon by my little darlings.  But when I did catch their bugs back then, it would have  typically been a simple 3-Day Cold, something like this:

• Day One: it’s coming on!
• Day Two: it’s peaking!
• Day Three: it’s going away!

Those carefree days of 3-Day Colds, sadly, seem gone forever. Just in the past decade, I not only feel sick whenever I catch a bug of any type, but I feel REALLY REALLY sick!  Sick-in-bed-kind of sick. Right now, in fact, it feels like I’m approaching Day 42 of a truly horrid cold (I think it’s a cold – but it might be Ebola. . .)

I started wondering if what I was suffering might not be a garden-variety common cold after all. COVID tests were negative – but what kind of freakish monster sickness was this anyway? The confusing part was that I’d frequently start to feel much better, but would quickly relapse after a few hours when I’d feel even worse than before.

The mystery condition included coughing at first, and then a lot of sneezing. But not those delicate wet baby kitten “ah-choo” sneezes of pollen season. No, these were VERY LOUD  world-class body-slamming sneezes, one after another after another. And by then, my poor nose was not just dripping, but running like a firehose.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the consistency and colour of that “nasal discharge” running out of your nose can vary. For example:

“Allergies, eating spicy food or being in cold temperatures typically cause a more watery nasal discharge. But when you have a cold or other infection, your body usually makes thicker mucus.”

Good to know!  Mine was definitely “watery nasal discharge” – every time I lowered my head even slightly, my nose would start dripping right onto the floor. I finally resorted to two big plugs of kleenex, one stuffed into each nostril to soak up the flood. Very attractive. . .

I knew that seasonal allergies cause sneezing, congestion, runny nose and postnasal drip (that’s the disgusting feeling of mucus trickling down  your throat).   *Gag* 

I had a history of miserable early summer allergies as a teenager on our family farm near Niagara Falls. The allergist told my parents that I’d tested positive for allergies to a number of common farm grasses (June grass, crab grass, couch grass, orchard grass – all of which apparently thrived happily all over our 42 acres).

Then I grew up, got married, and we moved from Ontario to the beautiful west coast of Canada – where my allergies miraculously dwindled to almost nothing. It was heavenly!

Speaking of sneezing, this was another recent mega-symptom that seemed unlike any common cold symptom I’d experienced  before. The definition of a cold-related sneeze, again according to Cleveland Clinic doctors, is this:

“An involuntary burst of air forced from your lungs through your nose and mouth when a virus irritates the mucous membranes lining your nose and throat. Sneezing can be alarming, but it usually doesn’t indicate a serious health condition.”

“Not a serious health condition?” Really, Cleveland Clinic doctors? I think one of my most “alarming” sneezes this past week may have cracked a rib on its way out of my body. . .

Worse, as San Diego allergist Dr. Eli Meltzer told an NPR interviewer:

“We actually blow out the sneeze at 40 miles per hour. The discharge can go 20 feet.”

“TWENTY FEET?!”  That is absolutely revolting.

And even my Honeywell Air Purifier instruction booklet tells a scary story:

“A sneeze can send up to 40,000 tiny droplets from your mouth and nose into the air or onto nearby surfaces. Viruses and bacteria can live in these droplets. If someone else breathes in the droplets, they can get infected, too.”

Those living with a chronic medical condition like heart disease (or as in my case – chronic pain) may find that even a mild cold/allergy/sinusitis/whatever you call it can morph into a far more serious condition.

After my heart attack, I was diagnosed with a subsequent cardiac condition called coronary microvasculer disease, causing what doctors call refractory angina (chronic chest pain that generally does nor respond to usual treatments).

The University of Arizona physician Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson explains how chronic pain can affect the severity of our symptoms:

“When a virus like cold or flu shows up in a person living with chronic pain, they feel worse than someone else with the same infection because bodies suffering chronic pain tend to respond to the illness in a different way compared to someone who does not have chronic pain. Essentially, when you’re  experiencing chronic pain, your system is already in overdrive.”

I didn’t want to expose my two darling grandkids to this virus, of course. So no visits, no walking home from school together, no Tuesday family dinners, no music class on Saturdays (plus daily cancellations of all plans with my walking/coffee buddies, appointments, anything that would require talking or being around other people). My grown kids did no-contact drop-offs of soup and groceries for me. Basically, my life has been reduced to mostly nose-blowing and fitful mouth-breathing naps on my red LaZBoy recliner.

There’s yet another independent demographic at risk for worsening cold symptoms: being older than 65.

The National Council on Aging tells us that as we get older, our immune system may no longer be able to fend off infections as robustly as in years gone by. That’s why the fall and winter cold/flu season can be a particularly dangerous time of year for older people – and even more serious if you’re over 65 AND also living with a chronic condition like heart disease.  This is also why it’s important for over 65s to be up-to-date on their annual flu shots.

Even a seemingly mild cold can pose a surprising health threat to older people compared to people under age  65.  And mild cold symptoms can also lead to pneumonia – a serious complication for heart patients. A mild cold can also intensify your ‘usual’ symptoms from other non-viral chronic issues like asthma, COPD or emphysema – even worsening for weeks after the viral symptoms have gone away.

Meanwhile, the basics of keeping yourself and others a bit safer when you’re suffering from cold/flu symptoms are steps you probably know already:

• avoid being around other people indoors
• wear a mask if you must be around other people
• keep hydrated
• cough into your sleeve, not your bare hands
• wash your hands with warm water and soap frequently (especially after using the toilet, blowing your nose, or coughing into your hands)
• try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your bare fingers
• eat healthy!
• drink lemon-ginger tea (with a big dollop of honey)
• wipe down surfaces frequently (door knobs, toys, countertops, elevator buttons) with disinfectant wipes
• get LOTS of rest
• try a steam humidifier to help ease congestion; if you don’t have one, leaning over a sink full of very hot water with a towel draped over your head can bring temporary relief
• seek medical help if your symptoms worsen over time

UPDATE: The good news (although I’m still red-nosed and congested) is that this week, I’m in that wonderfully optimistic phase where I’ve suddenly turned the corner and am no longer at death’s door. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the crocuses are blooming – and I feel confident that I just might  survive this.

P.S. to my dear heart sisters, before you decide to mention your own miserable cold symptoms to your family, watch and share this classic little video to learn the difference between your cold – and the dreaded MAN COLD.

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Lemon/ginger/honey tea image: Ri_Ya, Pixabay

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Q: Have you felt much worse than usual during your last cold?

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NOTE FROM CAROLYN:  I wrote about what other issues to watch out for when you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease in my book, “A Woman’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease”  (Johns Hopkins University Press).  You can ask for it at your local library or bookshop (please support your favourite independent neighbourhood booksellers, or order it online (paperback, hardcover or e-book) at Amazon – or order it directly from my publisher, Johns Hopkins University Press (use their code HTWN to save 30% off the list price).