'Covid Health Checks Uncovering Hidden Illnesses'

As the coronavirus vaccination programme makes Hong Kong people more conscious of their health, a private cardiologist says it's led to a jump in the number of people discovering they have heart problems they weren't aware of.

Dr Godwin Leung said on Monday that many people had had body checks to ensure they are in good enough health to be inoculated.

He said some of them had been having mild chest pain but were previously reluctant to visit a doctor. It turned out some of these patients suffered from mild problems such as hypertension, high cholesterol level and diabetes.

But some who didn’t have any symptoms before were shocked to find out their coronary arteries were seriously blocked and they needed surgery, Leung said.

“It’s not uncommon that people who have no symptoms may have some silent heart problems… coronary artery diseases that may not be symptomatic,” he said.

But Leung said people with mild medical problems that are under control should still go ahead and get Covid jabs, as they are at a much higher risk of developing complications if they get infected.

“So far there’s no proven evidence that the vaccine would cause a heart attack,” he said.

He said people with more serious medical problems can also get vaccinated as long as their conditions are being treated and are stable.