A recent study led by the University of Southern California reveals that Covid-19 infection can significantly increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death for up to three years after the initial infection, regardless of pre-existing cardiovascular conditions.
Published in the journal "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology," the research highlights that the heightened risk associated with Covid-19 is comparable to traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as type 2 diabetes and peripheral arterial disease.
Notably, the risk is especially pronounced for hospitalized patients, showing more than double the risk for those who had Covid-19, and nearly quadruple for those who required hospitalization compared to individuals without a history of infection.
The study also found that adults with blood types other than O (A, B, or AB) had a 65% higher risk of heart attack and stroke. This research analyzed data from the UK Biobank, involving over 10,000 individuals with mild to severe Covid-19 and more than 217,000 uninfected participants, tracked from February to December 2020, prior to the widespread availability of vaccines.
Researchers caution that the study has limitations, including that data was collected from patients infected with the original strain of the virus before vaccines were widely available in 2021.