A coronavirus infection, even with a mild form, would increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 55% in the year following contamination. The increased risk was independent of vaccination status.
- People infected with the coronavirus would be more likely to suffer from heart damage than those who had not contracted the virus.
- The risk of heart problems would also increase in infected patients, who suffered from mild forms, and in those at low risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
About 4% of people affected by Covid-19 have cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the journal NatureMedicine February 7. “Some people may think that’s a small number, but it’s not, given the scale of the pandemic,” said lead author Ziyad Al-Aly, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, in a statement. According to researchers, the coronavirus has caused heart problems in more than 15 million people, because to date, 380 million patients have contracted Covid-19 worldwide.
In the work, the authors reported that the risk of developing cardiovascular disease up to one year after coronavirus infection would have increased by 55%. Problem: this risk would also increase in patients who are unlikely to suffer from heart damage and those who have contracted a mild form of Covid-19.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists examined the health data of 153,760 Americans infected with the virus between March 2020 and January 2021. They compared their information with that of 5 million uninfected patients during the same period. Very few volunteers were vaccinated, as vaccines were not yet widely available at the time of the study.
An increased risk in people with mild forms
Beyond 30 days of infection, people with Covid-19 would be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including cerebrovascular disorders, dysrhythmias, ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease, pericarditis, myocarditis, heart failure and thromboembolic diseases, according to the results. The researchers found that the risk of developing coronary heart disease increased by 72%, that of having a cardiac arrest by 63% and that of having a stroke by 52%.
This high risk was also observed in people who were not hospitalized during the acute phase of the infection. “But the most remarkable thing is that people who have never had heart problems and who were considered low risk also develop heart problems after contracting the disease,” said Ziyad Al-Aly.
“Our data showed an increased risk of heart damage for young and old, men and women, blacks and whites, people who are obese and those who are not, people with diabetes and those who don’t. are not; people who have had heart disease before and those who have never had it, people with mild coronavirus infection and those with more serious infection who have had to be hospitalized for it” , he developed.
High risk in infected people regardless of vaccination status
To be certain that the risk of cardiovascular disease was not influenced by vaccination, the scientists carried out additional analyses. The latter revealed that the increase in this risk was greater in infected patients, regardless of their vaccination status.
“Our results highlight the serious cardiovascular consequences of a Covid-19 infection. (…) Due to the chronic nature of these diseases, they are likely to have long-lasting consequences for patients and health systems, and will have also have broad implications for economic productivity and life expectancy”, concluded the researcher, Ziyad Al-Aly.
