Scientists are still trying to wrap their heads around the effects of long COVID, which data shows is affecting more than 1 million children and 20 million adults in the U.S. Common long-COVID symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, excess thirst, chronic cough, and more, according to a 2023 study. Adding to the alarm is new research that shows COVID’s “extreme inflammatory response” increases one’s risk of cardiovascular events beyond the first month of infection.
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COVID-19 can lead to plaque buildup in the coronary arteries.
The new study was published this week in the journal Radiology. It included 803 participants and allowed researchers to observe 2,108 coronary artery lesions in patients with COVID and 480 coronary artery lesions in those without the infection.
Coronary artery lesions are buildups of plaque (often formed by calcium, cholesterol, or fat) in the artery walls that restrict or block blood flow to the heart. This can lead to coronary artery disease (CAD), a type of heart disease that may cause angina (chest pain), shortness of breath, fatigue, and, in severe cases, heart attack, explains Mayo Clinic.
The Radiology study concluded that COVID-19 was associated with “the rapid growth of plaque in the coronary arteries and an increased risk of cardiovascular events,” according to a press release.
Junbo Ge, MD, the study’s lead author and a professor and director of the Cardiology Department at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University in Shanghai, China, explained that “an extreme inflammatory response” caused by COVID is what leads to these heart issues.
“Inflammation following COVID-19 can lead to ongoing plaque growth, particularly in high-risk, noncalcified plaques,” he said. “Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are at increased risk for myocardial infarction [heart attack], acute coronary syndrome and stroke for up to a year.”
He added that these risks were equally present regardless of any comorbidities, including age, hypertension (high blood pressure), and diabetes.
Ge notes that more research is necessary to understand “the biological mechanisms” of these findings in order to improve patient care: “It’s crucial to anticipate a heavier cardiovascular patient burden in the future as most infected individuals recover from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
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Additional research links COVID to heart problems.
Previous research has also linked COVID to heart problems. For example, an oft-cited 2023 study published in the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology found that COVID infections “increased the risk of cardiac arrest, death, diabetes, heart failure, pulmonary embolism and stroke.”
More specifically, a 2022 study concluded that those who had COVID-19 had a much higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib), while another 2022 study saw a link between the virus and myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can cause blood clots.
In speaking about this research to the American Heart Association (AHA), neurologist Lindsay McAlpine, MD, director of the Yale NeuroCovid Clinic, said that “SARS-CoV-2 is excellent at triggering your immune system to go from zero to 100,” and this sudden surge can cause a “wide swath of inflammation” and excessive blood clotting.
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The takeaway:
Increasing research shows how the COVID-19 virus can negatively affect heart health. Many of these findings cite inflammation caused by the infection as the source of these cardiovascular issues.
A study published this week found that the “extreme inflammatory response” brought on by COVID can lead to plaque buildup in the coronary arteries, thereby increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
In speaking with the AHA, Nisha Viswanathan, MD, director of the long COVID program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, shared that one of your best lines of defense is to get vaccinated for COVID-19: “It really does seem to be highly protective.”
She also advises “controlling your cardiovascular risk factors,” such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or other chronic medical conditions: “It will all decrease your risk.”
