UK Biobank data has revealed that COVID-19 infection can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from any cause for at least up to three years. This trend was seen in people already diagnosed with and those without previously detected cardiovascular disease. Further, the risk of heart attack and stroke was about 65% higher in adults with non-O blood types compared to those who had type O blood.
The study looked at almost a year’s data from more than 10,000 adults who caught the disease, including approximately 8,000 who had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and about 2,000 who tested positive in a hospital setting.
“The results included nearly a quarter million people and point to a finding of global health care importance that may translate into an explanation for a rise in cardiovascular disease around the world,” said co-senior study author Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, chair of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences in Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute.
The report was published this week in the American Heart Association’s journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. The lead author is James R. Hilser, department of population and public health sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Researchers reviewed health and genetic data of the study subjects from February 1 to December 31, 2020. In addition, a group of more than 200,000 adults with no history of COVID-19 infection were also reviewed. None of the participants were vaccinated at the time of infection because COVID-19 vaccines were not yet available.
“We found a long-term cardiovascular health risk associated with COVID, especially among people with more severe COVID-19 cases that required hospitalization,” said Hilser. “This increased risk of heart attack and stroke continued three years after COVID-19 infection. Remarkably, in some cases, the increased risk was almost as high as having a known cardiovascular risk factor such as Type 2 diabetes or peripheral artery disease.”
Previous research has shown that COVID-19 increases the risk of serious cardiovascular complications within the first month after infection. This study examined how long the increased risk lasted and whether it subsided after recovering from COVID-19 infection.
The analysis found:
- During the nearly three-year follow-up period, the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death was more than two times higher among adults who had COVID-19, and nearly four times greater among adults hospitalized with COVID-19, compared with the group with no history of COVID-19 infection.
- People hospitalized with COVID-19, without cardiovascular disease or without Type 2 diabetes, had a 21% greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and death compared to people with cardiovascular disease and without COVID-19 infection.
- There was a significant genetic interaction among the non-O blood types and hospitalization for COVID-19. People with severe COVID-19 infections had an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, however, that risk was even higher in people who had non-O blood types (those with blood types A, B or AB).
- The risk of heart attack and stroke was about 65% higher in adults with non-O blood types compared to those who had type O blood.
Hooman Allayee, PhD, a professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine said,. “The results suggest that people with prior COVID infection may benefit from preventive care for cardiovascular disease.”
