Long-COVID patients are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a recent analysis of a national survey published in the journal Clinical

 Medicine Insights: Cardiology. 

Long COVID is a chronic illness in which people experience lingering symptoms after an initial COVID-19 infection. The diagnosis is not well understood, though many patients report cardiovascular complications 

The study confirms that CVD is more common among long-COVID patients: 11.9% of those with long COVID have CVD compared with 6.8% without this diagnosis. In an adjusted analysis, long COVID was associated with 37% higher odds of any CVD diagnosis (odds ratio [OR], 1.37).

Specifically, long COVID was associated with a higher risk of angina (chest pain; OR, 1.81) and myocardial infarction (heart attack; OR, 1.50), but not coronary heart disease (OR, 1.23) or stroke (OR, 1.28). The 95% confidence intervals for the final two conditions ranged below 1, indicating no elevated risk.

Interestingly, those with pre-existing CVD were not more likely to report new long-COVID symptoms. The findings echo those of a study from Sweden published earlier this year.

More long-COVID research needed

The analysis used self-reported data from the 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which included 8,332 participants with a history of COVID-19. 

People were categorized as having pre-existing CVD if they received this diagnosis in the year before they got COVID-19. New-onset CVD was assessed in two ways: if the diagnosis occurred in the same year or following year of a COVID-19 illness, or if it occurred within a year after COVID-19.

Scientists say their findings show the need for additional research to improve health interventions for long COVID, which affects an estimated 17.8 million Americans.

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