Increased Risk Of Heart Attack, Stroke In First Two Weeks Following COVID-19: Lancet Study

London: The risk of heart attack and stroke is increased three-fold in the first two weeks following COVID-19, according to a study published in The Lancet journal. The study compared the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction or heart attack, and stroke in 86,742 COVID-19 patients with 348,481 control individuals in Sweden from February 1 to September 14, 2020. “We found a three-fold increased risk of acute myocardial infarction and stroke in the first two weeks following COVID-19,” said Osvaldo Fonseca Rodriguez from Umea University in Sweden, and co-first author of the study.

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The risk was same even after the researchers adjusted for known risk factors for acute myocardial infarction and stroke such as comorbidities, age, gender and socio-economic factors.

The results indicate that acute cardiovascular complications represent an important clinical manifestation of COVID-19, said Ioannis Katsoularis from Umea University, a co-author of the study.

“Our results also show how important it is to vaccinate against COVID-19, in particular the elderly who are at increased risk of acute cardiovascular events,” Ioannis Katsoularis said.

The researchers used two statistical methods in the study: the matched cohort study and the self-controlled case series. The self-controlled case series study is a method that was originally invented to determine the risk of complications following vaccines, they said.

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Both the methods suggest that COVID-19 is a risk factor for acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke, the authors of the study said.

“This indicates that acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke represent a part of the clinical picture of COVID-19, and highlights the need for vaccination against COVID-19,” they said.

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In the study, information from national registries from the Public Health Agency of Sweden, Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare were cross-linked for all reported COVID-19 patients. A control group consisting of four individuals matched to every COVID-19 case on age, gender and county of residence, that had not tested positive for COVID-19. By using historical registry data from the National Board of Health and Welfare’s inpatient registry, individuals with a previous myocardial infarction and stroke were identified and excluded from the study.

It would have been difficult to calculate the risk that COVID-19 contributes to acute myocardial infarction and stroke, if individuals with a prior event were included, said Krister Lindmark, a co-author of the study.

“This is because the risk of a recurrent acute myocardial infarction and stroke is increased following a first acute myocardial infarction or stroke,” Krister Lindmark added.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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