Data Analytics Points to Cardiovascular Risk After COVID-19

Data analytics indicated that individuals who have had COVID-19 are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular complications, from the first month to a year after the infection, according to Washington University School of Medicine researchers.  

Cardiovascular complications can include disruptive heart rhythms, inflammation of the heart, blood clots, stroke, coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure, or even death.

According to the Washington University data analytics study, people who contracted COVID-19 were 72 percent more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease, 63 percent more likely to have a heart attack, and 52 percent more likely to experience a stroke as compared to control groups.

Such problems can occur among those who contract COVID-19, even among previously healthy individuals and those who developed only a mild infection.

“We wanted to build upon our past research on COVID’s long-term effects by taking a closer look at what’s happening in people’s hearts,” senior author and assistant professor of medicine at Washington University, Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, said in a press release. “What we’re seeing isn’t good. COVID-19 can lead to serious cardiovascular complications and death. The heart does not regenerate or easily mend after heart damage. These are diseases that will affect people for a lifetime.”

Since the pandemic started, over 380 million people globally have been infected with COVID-19.

“Consequently, COVID-19 infections have, thus far, contributed to 15 million new cases of heart disease worldwide,” said Al-Aly, who treats patients within the VA St. Louis Health Care System. “This is quite significant. For anyone who has had an infection, it is essential that heart health be an integral part of post-acute COVID care.”

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately one in four Americans die of heart disease each year.

Additionally, heart disease costs the US healthcare industry around $363 billion each year for services and medications.

“For people who were clearly at risk for a heart condition before becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2, the findings suggest that COVID-19 may amplify the risk,” said Al-Aly, who is also director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center and chief of the Research and Education Service at the VA St. Louis Health Care System.

Al-Aly added that individuals who have never had any heart problems and were considered low risk are also developing heart problems after COVID-19.

“Our data showed an increased risk of heart damage for young people and old people; males and females; Blacks, whites and all races; people with obesity and people without; people with diabetes and those without; people with prior heart disease and no prior heart disease; people with mild COVID infections and those with more severe COVID who needed to be hospitalized for it,” he said.

The research team analyzed de-identified medical records from the US Department of Veterans Affairs database. The researchers created a controlled database that included the health information of 153,760 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 from March 1, 2020, to Jan. 15, 2021.

Statistical modeling was used to compare cardiovascular outcomes in the COVID-19 dataset with two other groups of people who had not tested positive for the virus. The researchers then analyzed participants’ heart health over a year-long period, witnessing a 4 percent-increase in heart disease among people who had tested positive for COVID-19.

“Some people may think 4 percent is a small number, but it’s not, given the magnitude of the pandemic,” Al-Aly said. “That translates to roughly 3 million people in the US who have suffered cardiovascular complications due to COVID-19.”

Overall, those infected with COVID-19 were 55 percent more likely than those without the virus to suffer a major adverse cardiovascular event, which includes heart attack, stroke, and death.

“Our findings highlight the serious long-term cardiovascular consequences of having a COVID-19 infection and emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 as a way to prevent heart damage; this also underscores the importance of increasing accessibility to the vaccines in countries with limited resources,” Al-Aly said.