Even people without any cardiovascular disease before exposure to covid-19 are affected by cardiac complications.
The consequences of a Covid-19 infection on the body, several months later, are serious and worrying, according to Dr Tayeb Hamdi, medical researcher in health systems and policies, commenting on the results of a study published this month in the journal “Nature Medicine”. “Even if the infection seems mild at first, complications can arise in the months that follow,” warns the doctor. Hence the importance and necessity of complete vaccination and preventive measures in force.
It is true that the risk of cardiovascular complications from Covid-19 exists, but the post-acute cardiovascular manifestations caused by the disease have not been exhaustively and completely characterized. This is what was the subject of a study published this month of February in the journal Nature Medicine affirming that the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease is great in the year following contamination. This risk increases even in subjects who have had a mild form of the disease. Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis report that “the risk of complications occurs regardless of age, race, gender and other factors related to obesity, hypertension, diabetes , chronic kidney disease and hyperlipidemia”. Another observation is in order: “even people without any cardiovascular disease before exposure to Covid-19 are affected by said complications”. Worrying data that should alert health systems to a possible increase in the incidence of cardiovascular disease in the future.
To better understand these results, “Le Matin” contacted Dr Tayeb Hamdi, medical researcher in health systems and policies, who recalls at first glance that SARS-CoV-2 “is not only a respiratory disease which affects the lungs like the flu but a general disease with many facets, complications and sequelae. It has to be taken very seriously.” This work has also made it possible to provide an answer to questions relating to what is called “Covid long”. “Perhaps the fatigue and the difficulty in the effort attached to the “Covid long” find their explanation in the sequel cardiac lesions”, indicates Dr Hamdi. Third, adds our interlocutor, “being infected even by having a minor form of Covid-19 is always much more risky than avoiding this infection, hence the importance of complete vaccination which protects 3 to 4 times less against infection and 5 times less against the risk of reinfection compared to non-vaccinated”. The medical researcher in health systems and policies never ceases to emphasize the importance, even the necessity, of preventive measures to guard against the disease and its complications.
The study covers the period from March 2020 to January 2021. It included a patient group (n=153,760 infected people) and a control group (n=5 million uninfected individuals). Note that most of the study participants were not yet vaccinated at the time.
The results in numbers:
In the 12 months following infection, people who have contracted Covid-19 have a 55% increased risk of developing a cardiovascular disorder. Other patients have an increased risk of cardiac arrest (myocardial infarction) (+63%) or stroke (+52%). The risk of heart rhythm disorders is +62%. In addition, the study showed that the risk of inflammatory myocarditis of the heart muscle following a Covid-19 infection is high (+102%). The increased risk of having a cardiovascular accident is: +30% in former covidians with a mild form of the disease, +150% in those who have been hospitalized (conventional beds) and +350% in those who are went through resuscitation.