By Andrea Hargraves 
Covid-19 is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death in the short and long term, according to a study published today in the Scientific Journal of the European Society of Cardiology (SEC).
compared to uninfected people [com o vírus SARS-CoV-2]Patients with COVID-19 were 81 times more likely to die in the first three weeks of infection and remained five times higher until 18 months thereafter, the investigation of nearly 160,000 participants found.
Covid-19 patients “were more likely to develop multiple cardiovascular events than uninfected participants, which may have contributed to the increased risk of death,” said Ian Wong, an author of the study published in Cardiovascular Research.
According to the professor at the University of Hong Kong, in light of the findings now known, COVID-19 patients should be monitored for at least a year after recovery from acute illness to allow a diagnosis of cardiovascular complications of the infection. , within the known case range. Like the “long coronavirus”.
This study compared the incidence of cardiovascular disease and mortality in those infected, compared with others who did not have coronavirus, recruited before December 2020, when vaccines were not available in the UK.
According to the SEC, the investigation included more than 7,500 covid-19 patients diagnosed in the UK between March 16 and November 30, 2020, as well as several groups of uninfected people during the study period, which ran from March 2020 to August 2021. With an average Age 66 years.
Each group of uninfected subjects was similar to the covid-19 infected group in several parameters, such as age, gender, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, other health conditions, body mass index, and ethnicity.
The data collected also indicated that patients with severe COVID-19 were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease or die than less severe cases of SARS infection.
“Covid-19 patients were more likely than uninfected participants to develop cardiovascular disease, both in the short and long term, including myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and deep vein thrombosis.” Conclusions of the European Community.
The risks of some cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and atrial fibrillation, were considered high in COVID-19 patients in the short term, but then returned to normal levels.
“This study was conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, but more research should be done to evaluate subsequent outbreaks,” said Ian Wong, as more studies are needed to verify the effectiveness of vaccination in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and death after contracting the virus. infection. -19.