As doctors and scientists race to understand the many ways in which COVID-19 the illness caused by the novel coronavirus affects the brain and body, theyre also trying to figure out the sort of long-term impact the infection could have on patients.

The virus has only been around since late December, or at least thats what the current evidence suggests, so even the initial COVID-19 patients are still in their early days of recovery.

A new study from China gives us a first glimpse of what may be in store for patients who battle moderate-to-severe cases of COVID-19. By testing biological markers of recovered patients, researchers found that recovered patients had lingering issues with liver function. The intense damage were seeing in some peoples lungs and hearts also has researchers concerned that the health issues wont end once the infection clears up.

Itll take years before we have a clear understanding of how COVID-19 impacts peoples health in the long run, but heres what health experts think we might see.

COVID-19 can trigger a lot of inflammation, which can lead to organ damage

To understand the impact COVID-19 may have on the body, its crucial to first take a look at the immediate damage the disease inflicts.

When the body is exposed to an infection like COVID-19, it mounts an inflammatory response, in which the immune system pumps out cells to fight the virus. With COVID-19, some peoples bodies are producing way too much of an inflammatory response thats harming critical organs like the lungs, kidneys, and heart, according to Khalilah Gates , a pulmonologist and assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care and medical education at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine.

The body cannot recover from that level of damage overnight, and it must heal itself. Unfortunately, particularly in the lung, this healing process can lead to irreversible scarring (fibrosis) that can greatly impact lung function long term, Gates said. This loss of lung capacity could involve anything from shortness of breath to a long-term need for oxygen.

COVID-19 is also putting extreme stress on peoples hearts. Harvard University specialists called it one big stress test for the heart , stating that the inflammation and high fevers brought on by the coronavirus weaken the heart and increase the risk for cardiac abnormalities like blood clotting.

Len Horovitz , an internist and pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, expects that some people who battled a severe bout of COVID-19 may go on to develop heart arrhythmias, congestive heart failure and myocarditis or pericarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).

It matters how severe someones bout with the illness is. Those with milder symptoms may be less likely to run into COVID-related health issues down the road its the more severe cases that have experts worried. If you have a mild case, youre not going to have any scarring or breathing issues long-term, Horovitz said.

In general, health experts predict that the less inflammation a patient experiences, the less long-term effects theyll have.