Study: First wave of COVID-19 increased heart attack, stroke risk up to 3 years later

The National Institutes of Health Oct. 10 released results of a study that found that infection from COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic appeared to significantly increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and death for up to three years for unvaccinated individuals. When infected, those individuals had double the risk for cardiovascular events, and people with severe cases had nearly four times the risk. The study also is the first to show that increased risk of heart attack and stroke in people with severe COVID-19 may have a genetic component involving blood type. It is unclear if the risk of cardiovascular disease is or may be persistent for people who have had severe COVID-19 from 2021 to the present, NIH said.