History of COVID-19 doubles long-term risk of heart attack, stroke and death

A history of COVID-19 may double the risk of heart attack, stroke or death, according to new research led by the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Southern California.

The study found that people with any type of COVID-19 infection were twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event, such as a heart attack, stroke or even death, up to three years after diagnosis. The risk was significantly higher for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and more significant than for a history of heart disease.

Further genetic analysis also found that people with a blood type other than O (such as A, B, or AB) were twice as likely to experience an adverse cardiovascular event after COVID-19 as those with an O blood type. .

Published in Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biologyThe researchers used UK Biobank data from 10,005 people with COVID-19 and 217,730 people who were not infected between February and December 2020.

“Worldwide, more than a billion people have already suffered from COVID-19. The reported results do not represent a negligible effect in a small subgroup,” said study co-lead author Stanley Hazen, MD, Ph.D., chair of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic and co-chief of the preventive cardiology section. “The results included nearly a quarter of a million people and highlight a finding of global healthcare importance that promises to translate into an increase in cardiovascular disease globally.”

Some genetic variants are already linked to coronary heart disease, heart attack and COVID-19 infection. Researchers performed a genetic analysis to see if any of these known genetic variants contribute to an elevated risk of coronary heart disease after COVID-19.

None of the known genetic variants were responsible for the increase in cardiovascular events observed after COVID-19. Instead, the data showed an association between high risk and blood type.

Previous research has shown that people with blood types A, B, or AB are also more likely to get COVID-19.

“These findings reveal that although it is an upper respiratory infection, COVID-19 has various health implications and highlights that we should consider history of prior COVID-19 infection when of formulating plans and goals for cardiovascular disease prevention,” said Dr. Hazen.

“The association uncovered by our research indicates a potential interaction between the virus and the part of our genetic code that determines blood type and signals the need for further investigation,” Dr. Hazen said. “A better understanding of how COVID-19 works at the molecular level could potentially tell us about pathways linked to cardiovascular disease risk.”

Hooman Allayee, Ph.D., of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was co-senior author of the paper.

“Our data suggesting that the risk of heart attack and stroke was particularly higher in COVID-19 patients with blood types A, B, or AB has significant clinical implications,” Dr. Allayee said.

“Given our collective observations and the fact that 60% of the world’s population has these non-O blood types, our study raises important questions about whether more aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction efforts should be considered, possibly by taking into account the genetic makeup of an individual.

The findings show that the long-term risk associated with COVID-19 “continues to represent a significant public health burden” and that further investigation is needed, according to the authors.