Even the mild course of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus increases the likelihood of developing cardiovascular ailments, including heart attack and stroke. The latest research by American scientists leaves no doubt — According to their results, rates of many of these dangerous conditions are significantly higher in people who have had COVID-19.
- Whether we go through COVID-19 hard or mildly, we can be at risk of complications
- Cardiovascular diseases are among the most serious complications. According to American scientists, their risk increases significantly in people who have had coronavirus infection
- The data leaves no doubt: COVID-19 increases the risk of stroke by 52%, heart attack by 63%, and coronary heart disease by 72%.
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The risk of such complications was also increased in people under 65 years of age and in patients without other risk factors, such as obesity or diabetes. — Nature.com informs.
“It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, it doesn’t matter if you smoked or not” — said Nature.com, study co-author Dr Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
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The risk of a heart attack increases by 63%.
American scientists based their research on an extensive health database from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Researchers compared over 150. veterans who survived at least 30 days after contracting COVID-19, with two huge groups of people who did not get infected: a group of over five million people who used the medical system during the pandemic, and a group of similar size who used the same system in 2017, before SARS-CoV-2 appeared.
Research shows that, compared to those in the control groups without infection, those who contracted COVID-19 were 72 percent more likely to develop coronary artery diseasethe 63 percent more likely to have a heart attack and they were visited by Fr. 52 percent greater risk of stroke.
“I am surprised at these discoveries that the cardiovascular complications from COVID can take so long” — wrote Hossein Ardehali, a cardiologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, in an email to Nature.com. At the same time, he emphasized that the severe course of the infection increases the risk of complications much more, which is why it is so important to have the vaccine as soon as possible.
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The virus damages the heart on purpose
What kind of cardiovascular complications can be expected after undergoing COVID-19? Doctors mention many of them, including: cerebrovascular disorders, cardiac arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease, pericarditis, myocarditis, heart failure, and thromboembolism.
— The SARS-CoV-2 virus enters our cells through an enzyme that is mainly located in blood vessels. This is the difference between this virus and even the flu virus. He could have hit our heart and damaged it, but let’s just say it was a coincidence. SARS-CoV-2, in turn, is a virus that purposefully looks for organs with large vessels. Apart from the lungs or kidneys, it is the heart or the brain, and this is where we observe the worst complications — explains in an interview with the portal abczdrowie.pl Dr. Michał Chudzik, cardiologist, specialist in lifestyle medicine, coordinator of the stop-COVID program.
According to Dr.Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University, COVID-19 infections have contributed to 15 million new cases of heart disease worldwide so far. In his opinion, healthcare professionals should be prepared to face the growing problem of cardiovascular diseases. Al-Aly is concerned, however, that dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic may be significantly delayed, if only due to the fact that the world has still not dealt with the coronavirus itself.
Have you been infected with COVID-19 and are worried about the side effects? Check your health by completing a comprehensive research package for convalescents.
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