United States: Heart artery atherosclerotic plaque growth potentially speeds up by COVID-19 infection, which could end in more cardiovascular disease patients in future years, according to medical experts.
More about the news
New evidence indicates COVID-19 infection makes patients vulnerable to heart complications that include blood clots and heartbeat irregularities, as well as heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis), heart failure, and heart attack within one year after infection.
Medical experts have not fully identified the mechanisms behind the increased risk factor, but COVID-19 causes major inflammatory responses in specific patients.
According to Dr Junbo Ge at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai, China, and colleagues who studied the association between COVID-19 and its effects on inflammation and coronary artery plaque progression, which leads to atherosclerosis, as gavi.org reported.
Plaque accumulation in these heart supply arteries causes coronary artery disease that results in heart attack, heart rhythm abnormalities, or heart failure when untreated.
A new study reveals that COVID-19 may accelerate plaque buildup in arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. This underscores the importance of post-recovery heart health management, including diet, exercise, and regular screenings for those affected. pic.twitter.com/vVEPqPBkY1
— Neo🔥 (@neoupdate_) February 6, 2025
What more did the study suggest?
Analysis of plaque volume progression, along with high-risk plaque and inflammatory markers, as well as cardiovascular event occurrence, was conducted when researchers executed their study.
The study published in Radiology demonstrated how plaque amounts expanded more rapidly within patients who acquired COVID-19, particularly those who faced increased danger of developing troublesome plaques that could trigger life-threatening blood clots compared to uninfected patients ((20.1% versus 15.8%).
The patients with COVID-19 infection faced a three times higher risk of ‘target lesion failure’ (10.4% versus 3.1%) while showing increased arterial inflammation.
“It’s crucial to anticipate a heavier cardiovascular patient burden in the future as most infected individuals recover from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection,” Ge added.
Furthermore, Dr. Jonathan Weir-McCall at King’s College London and Dr. Jack Bell at the Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science in Liverpool, UK, stated that COVID-19 infection, even in its milder form, with the rising rate of plaque progression, is surprising, as gavi.org reported.
However, there are certain shared biological pathways that join atherosclerosis, and the so-called cytokine storm observed in severe COVID-19, “this is less likely to be relevant for a mild infection,” they noted.