COVID-19 infection may increase risk of heart attack, stroke, study finds

COVID-19 infection may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from any cause for up to three years, even in individuals without pre-existing cardiovascular disease, according to a new study led by the University of Southern California.

The research, published in the American Heart Association’s journal “Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology”, found that the increased risk associated with COVID-19 infection was comparable to established cardiovascular risk factors such as type 2 diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Key findings of the study include:

• The risk was significantly higher for patients who were hospitalised, being more than doubled in adults who had COVID-19 and nearly quadrupled in those who were hospitalised, compared to individuals with no history of infection.
• Genetic analysis revealed that the risk of heart attack and stroke was approximately 65% higher in adults with blood types other than O (i.e., A, B, or AB).

The researchers used data from the UK Biobank for 10,005 individuals with mild to severe COVID-19 and 217,730 uninfected individuals during the period of February to December 2020, before vaccines became available. Participants were followed for nearly three years.

The researchers noted several limitations to the study, including that the data came from patients infected with the original strain of the virus and before vaccines became widely available in 2021.