❦ ‘Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can cause cardiovascular problems for up to a year, not just during the acute phase, a large study has found.

One year after covid-19 infection people were at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including cerebrovascular disorders, dysrhythmias, ischaemic and non-ischaemic heart disease, pericarditis, myocarditis, heart failure, and thromboembolic disease.

Even those who had not been admitted to hospital with covid-19 were at risk of these problems, but the risk increased with the severity of the infection, from people not admitted to hospital to those admitted to intensive care.

Those who had had covid-19 had a 72% increased risk of heart failure, 63% increased risk of heart attack, and 52% increased risk of stroke compared with controls.

The researchers wrote that the increased risks “were evident regardless of age, race, sex, and other cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hyperlipidemia; they were also evident in people without any cardiovascular disease before exposure to covid-19, providing evidence that these risks might manifest even in people at low risk of cardiovascular disease.”

The researchers said that the risk of cardiovascular disease in people who have had covid-19 is substantial.

While the best way to prevent cardiovascular problems is to prevent infection in the first place, governments and health systems must prepare to deal with possible big problems in future.

The cardiovascular problems seen in some people who have had covid-19 are chronic and may have long-lasting consequences for the individual and for health systems, economic productivity, and life expectancy, the researchers say.’

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📖 (7 Feb 2022 ~ Nature: Medicine) Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19 ➤

📖 (14 Feb 2022 ~ The BMJ) Covid-19: Even mild infections can cause long term heart problems, large study finds ➤

Related: 📖 (10 Feb 2022 ~ Nature: News) Heart-disease risk soars - even with a mild case ➤

© 2022 The British Medical Journal.