A large study suggests that Covid survivors have a 63% increased risk of a heart attack within a year – regardless of their age or degree of illness.
American researchers examined the medical records of more than 150,000 infected people and compared them with a control group of 11.5 million people who did not test positive.
The risk of heart failure, heart disease, and stroke was “noticeably” higher up to 12 months after exposure to the virus.
Overall, those who have had Covid are 55% more likely to experience heart complications compared to those who have not been infected.
University of Washington researchers fear that Covid will lead to more heart problems in the coming years.
They estimate that the virus has already caused 15 million additional cases of cardiovascular disease worldwide.
During infection, the virus attacks the body’s cells, which can lead to damage to heart tissue and the immune system, which researchers suspect causes heart problems.
A study published in the journal Nature Medicine shows that heart problems have been found even in people with a mild infection who were previously healthy.
Dr Ziyad Al-Ali, senior author and director of clinical epidemiology at the university, said: “What we see is not good. Covid can lead to serious cardiovascular complications and death. The heart does not regenerate or does not easily recover from damage to the heart. These diseases affect people throughout their lives.”
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