Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
People who have been infected with Covid-19 are at heightened risk of subsequent cardiovascular problems, particularly in the first 30 days following infection.
The study, which was published in the journal Heart, found that those who required hospital admission were at greatest risk.
Data from more than 50,000 people was included in the study
The new research comes from a large UK Biobank study, which drew on data from more than 53,000 participants, 17,871 of whom were diagnosed with Covid-19 infection between March 2020 and March 2021, and 35,742 of whom weren’t.
Of those infected with Covid, 701 required hospital admission for their infection; 866 were admitted to hospital for another condition; and 14,304 didn’t need hospital treatment.
All participants were tracked up until March 2021 (unless they died or had a cardiovascular event prior to this), providing, on average, 141 days of monitoring.
Cardiovascular events included heart attack; stroke; heart failure; atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat); VTE (blood clot in a vein); pericarditis (inflammation of the heart lining); death from any cause; death from cardiovascular or ischaemic heart disease.
Those who were hospitalised due to Covid-19 had higher risks of all cardiovascular events
After analysing the data, the researchers found that those who were hospitalised due to Covid had higher risks of all the outcomes considered irrespective of potentially influential demographic and cardiometabolic factors.
These participants were 27 times as likely to develop VTE, more than 21.5 times as likely to be diagnosed with heart failure, 17.5 times as likely to have a stroke, 15 times more likely to be newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and 10 times more likely to have a heart attack.
In contrast, those who didn’t require hospital admission for Covid-19 infection were nearly three times as likely to have a VTE and more than 10 times as likely to die of any cause compared to those who hadn’t caught the virus.
Indeed, those admitted with the virus as a primary reason were 118 times as likely to die as those who didn’t need hospital treatment, while those for whom Covid-19 was a secondary diagnosis were 64 times as likely to die.
While most cardiovascular disease diagnoses and death occurred within the first 30 days of infection and among those admitted to hospital for Covid-19 as the primary reason, heightened risk remained beyond 30 days, although to a lesser extent.
Countries with limited access to Covid vaccination at increased risk of poor outcomes
The researchers note that the study is observational so cannot establish a cause, however, they say their research adds to a growing number of studies suggesting that Covid-19 increases the risk of poor outcomes.
They write: “The long-term sequelae of past Covid-19 exposure is emerging as a dominant public health concern. Our findings highlight the increased cardiovascular risk of individuals with past infection, which are likely to be greater in countries with limited access to vaccination and thus greater population exposure to Covid-19.”
“Such risks are almost entirely confined to those with disease requiring hospitalisation and highest in the early (first 30 days) post-infection period.”