Heart check.Photo: Getty
COVID-19 illness, even mild cases, can leave people with asignificantly higher risk of life-threatening heart problems, anew study found.
In one of the largest analyses yet of the long-term effects of COVID-19, researchers found that the virus drastically increases the chance of heart issues like failures, strokes and irregularities, and the potential of deadly blood clots in the legs and lungs for at least a year after infection.
The patients had received medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, making them mostly white men, but even after accounting for age and race, the high risks still held.
“It was a bit of a moment for us when we realized it was evident in all of these subgroups, including younger adults, older adults, Black people, white people, people with obesity and those without,” Al-Alytold NBC News. “The risk was everywhere.”
Heart experts told the outlet that the COVID-19 vaccines, which protect against infection, likely reduce this risk.
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The study, published in the journalNature Medicinelast week, is also in line with previous studies about how COVID-19 affects the heart.
In a Twitter thread, Al-Aly said that their research is a warning that countries will start to see a rise in cardiovascular problems in their populations.
“Governments and health systems around the world should be prepared to deal with the likely significant contribution of the COVID-19 pandemic to a rise in the burden of cardiovascular diseases,” he said. “Because of the chronic nature of these conditions, they will likely have long-lasting consequences for patients and health systems and also have broad implications on economic productivity and life expectancy.”
source: people.com
