WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Hospitalization for COVID-19 represents a coronary artery disease risk equivalent, contributing to an increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), according to a study published online Oct. 9 in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

James R. Hilser, from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues identified 10,005 COVID-19 cases between Feb. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, from the U.K. Biobank and examined the long-term (>1,000 days) risk for MACE compared to 217,730 population controls and 38,860 propensity score-matched controls during the same period.

The researchers found that COVID-19 cases at all levels of severity had an increased risk for MACE (hazard ratio, 2.09), with a higher risk for cases hospitalized for COVID-19 (hazard ratio, 3.85). Hospitalization for COVID-19 represented a coronary artery disease risk equivalent, with even higher incident MACE risk among cases without a history of cardiovascular disease than in patients with cardiovascular disease without COVID-19 (hazard ratio, 1.21). There was a significant genetic interaction between the ABO locus and hospitalization for COVID-19; the risk for thrombotic events was higher in those with non-O blood types versus blood type O.

“This increased risk of heart attack and stroke continued three years after COVID-19 infection. Remarkably, in some cases, the increased risk was almost as high as having a known cardiovascular risk factor such as type 2 diabetes or peripheral artery disease,” Hilser said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry; one author is co-inventor on patents held by the Cleveland Clinic relating to cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics.

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