Covid-19 is caused by a respiratory virus, SARS-CoV-2 or novel coronavirus. Although it was initially described as a viral infection of the respiratory tract, with the effects expected mainly for organs such as the trachea and lungs, the disease turned out to be a real puzzle, with significant impacts on other organs of the body.
Scientists at the University of Washington, in the United States, carried out a large study that revealed that the infection caused by Covid-19 increases the risks of developing cardiovascular diseases.
The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, points out that the likelihood of heart problems increases even among patients who had mild cases of the disease.
Rates of different conditions, such as heart failure and stroke, were shown to be substantially higher in people who recovered from the infection than in individuals with a similar profile who did not have the disease.
According to the analysis, the risk was elevated even for those younger than 65 years of age and without risk factors such as obesity or diabetes. People who recovered from Covid-19 had marked increases in at least 20 cardiovascular problems over the course of a year after infection.
Regarding stroke, those who recovered were 52% more likely to have the problem than those who were not exposed to the contagion. The risk of heart failure increased by 72%.
Although hospitalization increased the likelihood of future cardiovascular complications, even people who were not hospitalized were at increased risk for many heart conditions.
In an interview with CNNcardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar echoed the main highlights of the North American study.
“We understand, over the initial months of the disease, that the heart and blood vessels are also affected by the disease. So, Covid-19 is a disease that today we call systemic”, says the doctor.
In the Nature study, information from US Department of Veterans Affairs health databases was used. The researchers evaluated data from more than 153,000 individuals who had Covid-19, as well as two sets of populations that did not have the disease, technically called “controls”, with current data from 5.6 million individuals, and historical data from 5. 8 million people.
The comparison of health information made it possible to estimate the risks of a set of cardiovascular outcomes over a one-year period.
“Researchers at the University of Washington followed 153,000 individuals who had Covid-19 and recovered. Of these individuals, a good part had the mild form and was not even hospitalized. Another part was hospitalized in a normal room or ward, and a minority was hospitalized in the ICU”, he explains.
According to the cardiologist, one of the main findings of the study was the scientific evidence that Covid-19 can cause long-term cardiovascular complications.
“They found that one year after Covid-19, regardless of the form of the disease – mild, moderate or severe, patients who had Covid-19 had a significant increase in cardiac complications or diseases affecting the heart and vessels. Among them, acute myocardial infarction, angina, stroke, pulmonary embolism, vessel thrombosis, myocarditis, perdicarditis and cardiac arrhythmias”, he says.
The cardiologist explains that the increase in the risk of cardiovascular problems is associated with the imbalance in the immune system caused by Covid-19, which also happens in frames of other inflammatory diseases, such as cancer.
She points out that the findings of the North American study also reinforce the evidence that the risks of serious cardiac complications are high due to natural infection. In addition, according to the cardiologist, heart problems caused by possible adverse reactions to the vaccine are extremely rare.
“The Covid-19 vaccine is the best way to prevent the disease, cardiovascular complications and even myocarditis”, he emphasizes.
* Under supervision of Elis Franco
Source: CNN Brasil
