COVID infection linked to sharp increase in long-term risk of heart attack, stroke: USC study

A history of COVID-19 can double the long-term risk of heart attack, stroke or death, according to a new study from the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Southern California.

Researchers analyzed data from 10,000 people treated for COVID-19 in 2020 and roughly 200,000 people who were not infected. Doctors followed the health progress of the subjects for three years.

The study, published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Journal, found that patients with any type of COVID-19 infection were twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event for up to three years after their initial diagnosis than those with no history of COVID.