COVID-19 may raise heart attack and stroke risk, study says

(CNN) – There are many dangers COVID-19 can pose to a person but a new study suggests the virus can have a significant impact on heart and brain health for years after an infection.

In 2020, before vaccines were available, people who caught COVID-19 had twice the risk of a major cardiovascular problem like heart attack or stroke as those who did not test positive, according to a new study.

“What was also surprising is that the extent of that risk did not show any sign of diminishing or attenuation with time,” said Dr. Stanley Hazen with Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute.

Hazen is the co-senior study author. He says those risks in medical studies stayed up to three years after the infection and those who had to be hospitalized with severe illness from the virus were at even greater risk for heart problems.

“That is similar to the risk of someone who had one heart attack and what the risk for having a second heart attack was,” Hazen said.

Hazen says the risk also varied based on blood type.

Researchers say people with certain non-O blood types, like A or B, are already at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases but this study found those with O-type blood who were hospitalized with COVID-19 did not have quite as high of a risk of heart attack or stroke.

While the study did not look at the effects of vaccination on cardiovascular risk, Hazen says since the severity of the COVID-19 infection is linked to long-term cardiac risk, getting protected from COVID-19 through vaccination is critical.

“If you have had COVID, I suggest think about heart disease and getting your cholesterol checked and your blood pressure checked,” Hazen said.

Hazen says the researchers only studied older adults but he says there is reason to believe they would see the same results in younger people who have a history of COVID-19.

He also suggests lowering cardiac risk through healthy lifestyle habits like eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.

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