Coronavirus increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and even death long after infection, new study finds

new large study This boldly highlights these long-term concerns. The results were as brutal as many experts had hypothesized.

The study of nearly 250,000 adults found that people who contracted any type of coronavirus infection in 2020 were less likely to experience a serious cardiac event (heart attack, stroke, or even death) over the next three years. They are easier to diagnose than uninfected people, who are found to be at twice the risk of contracting the disease.

People with infections severe enough to require hospitalization have an almost four times higher risk of serious cardiac events and death than uninfected groups.

“These findings are undeniable and deeply concerning,” said David Putrino, director of the Cohen Center for Complex Chronic Disease Recovery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “The importance of this study is that current public health policies around COVID-19 are inadequate. need to be informed of the risks involved.”

There is a chilling truth to those words. Although experts and major medical institutions remain challenged, debunking myths Long-term research into viruses and the vaccines developed to fight them tells the story of lives irrevocably changed by COVID-19 and makes a strong case for vaccination and other mitigation measures against the virus. are.

The study was published Oct. 9 in the peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association. Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology. The report's authors and researchers used data from the UK Biobank system, which includes data on more than 8,000 adults who tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020 and a further 2,000 or so who required hospitalization. was analyzed. The results were compared to about 220,000 adults in the database who were not diagnosed with COVID-19 during that period.

The study authors found that the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death doubled compared to the uninfected group in the approximately three years following an acute infection in 2020. Somewhat surprisingly, the increased risk did not abate over the three years of the study, suggesting a problematic stay effect.

“The two-fold increase in risk observed in the first year post-infection was also seen in the second and even third year,” said study author Stanley, director of the Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences. Hazen says. cleveland clinic. “This was seen in all subjects, regardless of age, gender, or risk factors for heart disease.” (Study subjects ranged in age from 50 to 86, with a mean age of 67.) )

What more?, In a subset analysis of hospitalized patients without known heart disease, a viral infection increased the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death to the same level as someone with a history of heart disease, diabetes, or peripheral artery disease (PAD). — but not the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“This is why we call the new coronavirus a risk equivalent for coronary artery disease,” says Hooman Alaiy, the study's principal investigator and a professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “Having severe COVID-19 infection is just as detrimental to heart attack and stroke as having pre-existing heart disease.”

The people I interviewed quickly noticed an important difference and an important limitation of this study: None. Percentage of people who were vaccinated against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the time of infection, as no vaccine was available in 2020.

“This study did not look at the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on a person's cardiovascular risk,” Hazen said.. “Vaccines usually prevent COVID-19 infections from becoming more severe, so I think they may have a preventive effect.”

Putrino agrees. “Our team has consistently advocated for the public to focus on infection prevention strategies such as masks, clean air, and vaccination to best avoid acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.” he says. “The public should learn about the long-term risks associated with COVID-19.”

How COVID-19 increases the risk of cardiovascular disease has been the subject of much research and speculation. Research on the long-term novel coronavirus I emphasized The disease negatively affects the body's normal functioning over time, and some of the same factors may be at work here as well.

“COVID-19 can cause inflammation of the endothelial cells (lining blood vessels),” says Ziyad Al Ali, director of research and development at St. Louis Healthcare in Virginia. previous work It foretold many of the results of the UK Biobank study.

“It can activate the complement system and increase the tendency to form blood clots. It can also destabilize plaques in the coronary arteries and cause inflammation,” Al-Aly says. “These mechanisms may explain the significant increase in (cardiovascular) risk and the persistence of that increased risk over many years.”

Remarkably, the new study found that genetics also played a role. For example, hospitalization due to COVID-19 has doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke for people with blood type A, B, or AB, but has not changed the risk for people with blood type O. It was.

Mr Allaiyi also said he was “very keen” to replicate the study's key findings in a larger population, “as most of the UK Biobank population is white Europeans”. He said the research group is already trying to access other datasets for that purpose.

However, the findings are robust and very clear. COVID-19 increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, and even death. The effects last for three years after infection. And severe infections exacerbate those risks.

Other studies have shown that vaccination can reduce the severity of infection, the need for hospitalization, and the risk of death associated with COVID-19. But as of last year, about 1 in 5 people in the United States had never received a COVID-19 vaccine. complete dosage or latest vaccines.

The study also found, in a preliminary analysis, that cardiovascular risk was not significantly increased in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who were already taking aspirin. This suggests that while there is potential to reduce risk, more research is needed, Alai'i said.

Sandeep Das, co-chair of the American Heart Association's COVID-19 Division, said, “We would like to use this as a sign for proactive prevention.” -19 CVD Registration Committee and Director of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “I think this study should probably push some people out of their complacency and think about the long-term risks.”

That process must include vaccination. That might mean being more proactive about wearing a mask and paying attention to the air quality around you on a daily basis. But none of this is without the recognition that, as much as some would like to believe otherwise, COVID-19 remains a threat to public and individual health (including one's own history of contracting the virus). It can't happen.

“You may have forgotten that you had coronavirus years ago, but coronavirus has not forgotten you,” Al Ali said. “Reducing the coronavirus to just a cold or a burger you don't care about is wishful thinking and doesn't match the scientific evidence.”

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