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If you've tested positive for COVID, local study wants your help

"Are we really safe after we leave and that’s what we are trying to figure out here. This is a virus that never seen before the way it affects our body..."

NEW ORLEANS —

There's an important study for people who have recovered from the coronavirus. Doctors are now concerned about what happens after recovery. And you can be one of the first to join the groundbreaking study that may help your health in the future. 

You’ve seen the happy moments with medical workers and families overjoyed, as someone makes it out of the hospital after a tough battle with COVID-19. But doctors are concerned this may not be the finish line. 

"Are we really safe after we leave and that’s what we are trying to figure out here. This is a virus that never seen before the way it affects our body from head to toe, as I will tell my patients," said Tulane Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. Nassir Marrouche, who is the principal investigator on the study. 

Doctors around the world are seeing many health side effects after recovery, from many different heart and blood clotting problems, to lung problems. They are even seeing changes in the brain which affects your behavior. 

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"We’re seeing a lot of change in people’s personalities that’s affecting them."  

So Dr. Marrouche is starting  a new study and needs your help. If you’ve tested positive for the coronavirus, or been sick with COVID-19, you would wear a free digital wristband called the Biostrap. The app would show you and the doctor a variety of heart, and lung functions, and your sleep patterns.  A behavioral health professional would also work with you on a questionnaire over a telemedicine visit. Dr. Marrouche is not only hoping to gather information, but also to foresee a dangerous health condition in your future and treat it early . 

"(We're) hearing from all over the world now. We have data showing people leave (the hospital) and suddenly they get strokes. Suddenly they have an arrhythmia," he said. 

And he says Louisiana has many people who have recovered.

"We’re number five in the world as a state in COVID per million patients, 2,000 infections per million. So we have a lot of patients, unfortunately, who are suffering and we need to understand this," said Dr. Marrouche.

For more on the WeaCor study, call Tulane at 504-988-0200.

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