Feb 10 2022 22:42
It does not seem that the new Corona virus, which has been spreading in the world for more than two years, has revealed all its secrets yet.
A large new study finds that survivors of the virus, which causes Covid-19 disease, are at a significantly increased risk of having a heart attack within a year, regardless of their age or the extent of their illness.
And the newspaper “Daily Mail” reported that American researchers looked at the medical reports of more than 150,000 infected people and compared them to a control group of 11.5 million people who did not contract the virus.
The risk of heart failure, heart disease and stroke was significantly higher in the 12 months following infection with the virus.
Those who contracted the virus and then beat it were 55 percent more likely to develop heart complications than people who did not have the disease.
University of Washington researchers fear that COVID-19 will lead to other heart problems for millions of people over the coming years. They estimate that the virus has already caused an additional 15 million cases of cardiovascular disease worldwide.
During infection, the virus attacks the body’s cells, potentially causing damage to heart tissue and the immune system, which researchers suspect causes heart problems.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed that heart problems appeared in people who had mild infection from the disease and were previously healthy.
“What we’re seeing is not good. Covid can lead to serious cardiovascular complications and death. The heart does not regenerate or recover easily following damage,” said Dr. Ziad Al-Ali, the study’s senior author and director of the university’s epidemiology center.
“These are diseases that will affect people for life,” he added.
Al-Ali warned that countries must be prepared to deal with the sharp rise in heart problems.
Many doctors and patients have reported heart problems between people while they are infected with the virus, but the researchers said their results show that this risk “extends well beyond” acute infection.
As part of the study, researchers in Washington examined heart health data for 153,760 people who had contracted coronavirus through January 2021. They compared it to a control group of 11.5 million people who did not have the infection. Participants were followed for approximately 11.5 months.
The overall risk of heart complications was 55 percent higher, but it varies across cases. The team found that the increased risk of heart complications applied to everyone, regardless of age, gender, race, weight and underlying health conditions.
Thirty days following injury, patients were one and a half times more likely to have a stroke, which equates to another four strokes per 10,000 people each year.
Survivors were also one and a half times more likely to have a heart attack, raising the rate by 1.8 cases per 10,000 people.
A recent infection also increased rates of heart disease including arrhythmia (64% higher), elevated heart rate (84%), and slow heart rate (53%).
The team also found that rates of inflammatory heart disease were higher following infection.
Rates of myocarditis were 5.4 times higher among Covid survivors, equivalent to an additional 0.3 cases per 10,000 people, while pericarditis cases increased 1.8 times, resulting in an additional 1 case per 10,000 individuals. Pericarditis is swelling and irritation of the membrane surrounding the heart.
The risk of ischemic heart disease also increased by 72 percent, while rates of heart failure also increased by 72 percent, resulting in an additional 11.6 cases per 10,000 people.
Meanwhile, the risk of developing a blood clot in a blood vessel was 2.9 times higher for Covid survivors, resulting in an additional 5.5 cases per 10,000 people, while rates of DVT were twice as high, resulting in four more cases per 10,000 people. .
People who were hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to develop heart complications, but the increase was also higher for people with mild infections.
Dr. Al-Ali said the results are “very important”, adding, “For anyone who has contracted a corona infection, it is essential that heart health be an integral part of Covid care following acute infection.”
As for people who were clearly at risk of developing heart disease before infection with the Corona virus, the results of the study indicate that Covid may increase those risks.
But more importantly, people, who had never had any heart problems and were considered low-risk, also had heart problems following contracting Covid.
Source: Al Ittihad – Abu Dhabi
