FILE-Healthcare workers treat a Covid-19 patient on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) floor at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S., on Monday, Jan.
31, 2022. (Allison Dinner/Bloomberg via Getty Images) ST. LOUIS - Firefighter and paramedic Mike Camilleri once had no trouble hauling heavy gear up ladders.
Now battling long COVID, he gingerly steps onto a treadmill to learn how his heart handles a simple walk. "This is, like, not a tough-guy test so don’t fake it," warned Beth Hughes, a physical therapist at Washington University in St.
Louis. Somehow, a mild case of COVID-19 set off a chain reaction that eventually left Camilleri with dangerous blood pressure spikes, a heartbeat that raced with slight exertion, and episodes of intense chest pain.