COVID-19 leads to high blood clot risk

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Scientists from the University of Oxford found that around 1 in 100 people with COVID-19 developed dangerous blood clots, with rates higher in men, and particularly for those hospitalized.

The research is published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and was conducted by Dani Prieto-Alhambra et al.

It has been previously estimated that the risk of venal blood clots among people hospitalized with COVID-19 is around 9% while the risk of an or arterial blood clots is 4%.

In the study, the team examined the incidence of venal blood clots and arterial blood clots among almost 1 million people with COVID-19.

They found that for people with COVID-19, the risks ranged from 0.2% to 0.8% for venal blood clots. For arterial blood clots, it was from 0.1% to 0.8%.

Incidence of these events increased to 4.5% and 3.1% for those hospitalized with COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the 90-day death risk was between 1.1% and 2.0% among COVID-19 cases and increased to 14.6% for those hospitalized.

The team showed that men had an increased risk of blood clots and death because they had various health conditions and prior medications.

They say that while risks are somewhat low overall, given the vast numbers of people who have been infected with COVID-19, these relatively small risks translate into large numbers of people being affected.

The consequences to health, including the risk of death, are strong, underlining the importance of effective treatment strategies in the management of severe COVID-19 to reduce their frequency.

Scientists need more research to find strategies to minimize the risk of blood clots amongst patients with non-hospitalized COVID-19, including possible vaccines but also blood thinners.

If you care about Covid, please read studies about new way to prevent many COVID-19 variants, and the differences and similarities between the flu and COVID-19.

For more information about Covid, please see recent studies about drug combo that could help cure COVID-19, and results showing COVID-19 vaccines need to be shored up with a plant-based diet.

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