Research on sequelae exposed: Not only is heart failure increased by 72% one year after infection with the new coronavirus?
Viral sequelae affect cardiovascular heart failure risk by 72%
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, virus strains have continued to mutate. Although the latest Omicron mutant strain is considered to be gradually becoming milder and more influenza-like, the latest research report warns people that the sequelae of confirmed COVID-19 may last for up to a year. For a long time, it is more likely to cause profound damage to the cardiovascular system.
The authoritative international journal “Science” reported that it was discovered in the early stages of the pandemic that severe infections can damage patients’ cardiovascular health, causing blood clots, inflammation, arrhythmia and even heart failure. However, will these effects last after recovery? It is an issue that scientists pay great attention to.
A recent study of 11 million U.S. veterans found that among veterans diagnosed a year ago, the risk of a total of 20 different cardiovascular diseases increased due to having been diagnosed with the virus, including heart disease, arrhythmia, stroke, Transient cerebral ischemia, heart failure, cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, etc.
Research shows that veterans infected with COVID-19 have a 72% higher risk of heart failure 12 months later. The severity of symptoms is also positively correlated with the degree of infection symptoms at the time of initial diagnosis. However, this statistics was collected from March 2020 to January 2021, and most of them have not yet been vaccinated against the new coronavirus.
In the post-epidemic era, viruses threaten cardiovascular disease as much as smoking and obesity
“If someone claims that COVID-19 is just the same as the flu virus, then this report will be the strongest evidence available to prove that is not the case!” Eric Topol, a cardiologist at Scripps Research, believes that the study The results are shocking, and the consequences of contracting the virus are worse than previously thought by the medical community and will increase the long-term burden on the public health system.
Ziyad Al-Aly, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic, said that in the post-epidemic era, COVID-19 will become one of the high-risk factors for cardiovascular disease, no less threatening than smoking and obesity. However, this study is retrospective in nature, and prospective studies are still needed to calculate the accurate cardiovascular risk of confirmed COVID-19 virus.
The research team admits that it is currently unable to explain why the virus can cause long-term damage to the body of confirmed patients, but it is tentatively inferred that cardiovascular disease is also one of a series of symptoms of long-term effects after diagnosis (Long Covid). Other effects include causing brain fog in patients. , fatigue, weakness, loss of smell, etc.
Viruses harm cardiovascular systems equally and are related to endothelial cell damage
“Similar conditions may occur in the brain or other organs, which also proves that the COVID-19 virus can cause long-term damage to the heart and blood vessels. The brain fog discussed by many people is also a symptom of this.” Ziyad emphasized that COVID-19 The phenomenon of increased cardiovascular risk applies equally to the elderly and young, diabetic and non-diabetic, obese and non-obese, smokers and never smokers.
Why does the virus cause heart and blood vessel damage now that I have recovered from the infection? Al-Aly believes that one possibility is that the endothelial cells of the heart blood vessels are damaged and inflamed. Others include the virus directly infecting myocardial tissue, or causing an increase in the levels of cytokines, leading to fibrosis of myocardial cells, or persistent infection in areas beyond the reach of the immune system. However, these are still only at the hypothesis stage and require further experimental confirmation.
In addition, the study also has relevant limitations, because retired officers and soldiers are mostly white, male and elderly. 90% of the three groups of survey respondents are male, and the proportion of white people in the two groups is as high as 71% and 76%, while the number of The average age of the collected subjects is about 60 years old. Therefore, it remains unclear whether variables such as gender and racial differences will show the same results.
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