A new study led by researchers from Cleveland Clinic and the University of Southern California (USC) has found that having a history of COVID-19 can double a person’s risk of heart attack, stroke, or even death.
The research shows that the risk remains elevated for up to three years after being infected with COVID-19, highlighting the virus’s lasting impact on heart health.
The study, published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, analyzed health data from the UK Biobank, including more than 10,000 people who had COVID-19 between February and December 2020 and compared them with over 217,000 people who never got infected.
The researchers discovered that people who had any type of COVID-19 infection were twice as likely to experience a major heart-related event such as a heart attack or stroke, or even die, compared to those who were not infected. This risk was even higher for individuals who had been hospitalized due to COVID-19.
One of the key findings was that a person’s history of COVID-19 played a more significant role in increasing the risk of heart problems than their past history of heart disease. This suggests that the effects of the virus on the heart and blood vessels are substantial.
The researchers also found that a person’s blood type played a role in their risk level. People with blood types A, B, or AB were twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke after having COVID-19 compared to those with blood type O.
This connection is important because previous studies had already shown that people with non-O blood types are more likely to get COVID-19 in the first place.
Dr. Stanley Hazen, a co-senior author of the study and chair of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute, emphasized the significance of these findings.
He noted that over a billion people have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide, and the study included nearly a quarter million people, making the results globally relevant.
Hazen pointed out that the findings highlight the importance of considering a history of COVID-19 infection when developing plans for preventing heart disease.
He also explained that while COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory infection, it has a wide range of health effects, including on the heart and blood vessels.
To better understand this, the researchers conducted a genetic analysis. They looked at genetic variants that are known to be associated with coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and COVID-19 infection.
However, they found that these genetic factors were not responsible for the increased heart risks after COVID-19. Instead, it was blood type that stood out as a significant factor.
Dr. Hooman Allayee, a co-senior author of the study from USC’s Keck School of Medicine, noted that their findings suggest that people with non-O blood types (A, B, or AB) should be more cautious about their heart health after recovering from COVID-19.
He mentioned that 60% of the world’s population falls into these non-O blood types, which makes this discovery particularly important.
The study’s authors concluded that COVID-19 continues to pose a serious health risk long after the initial infection, particularly for heart-related problems.
They believe more research is needed to explore how COVID-19 interacts with the genetic factors that determine blood type and influences the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Hazen suggested that a deeper understanding of the virus’s effects at the molecular level might provide valuable insights into how heart disease develops.
In summary, this study shows that a history of COVID-19 can significantly increase the long-term risk of heart problems, especially for people with non-O blood types.
The findings suggest that doctors and patients should pay attention to the potential lingering effects of COVID-19 on heart health and consider more aggressive prevention strategies in people at risk.
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The research findings can be found in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
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