OHIO — New research from the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Southern California shows people with a history of COVID-19 have double the risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

The study showed people who had any time COVID-19 infection were twice as likely to have a major cardiac event for up to three years after diagnosis, and the risk increases for those who will hospitalized with the virus.

What You Need To Know

  • Through a study, it was discovered that people who have any type of COVID-19 infection were twice as likely to have a major cardiac event for up to three years after diagnosis with a significantly higher risk for patients hospitalized with COVID-19

  • Genetic analysis showed individuals with blood types other than O, such as A, B or AB have twice the chance of experiencing an adverse cardiovascular event after dealing with COVID than those with an O-type

  • The known genetic variants were not found to be drivers of the enhanced cardiovascular events post COVID-19

  • The data instead highlighted a tie between elevated risk and blood type

Researchers used UK Biobank data from 10,005 people who had COVID and 217,730 people who did not get infected between February to December 2020.

Genetic analysis showed individuals with blood types other than O, such as A, B or AB have twice the chance of experiencing an adverse cardiovascular event after dealing with COVID than those with an O-type. Previous research has shown these blood types — A, B or AB — are more susceptible to contacting the virus.

“Worldwide over a billion people have already experienced COVID-19. The findings reported are not a small effect in a small subgroup,” said co-senior study author Dr. Stanley Hazen, chair of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences in Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and co-section head of Preventive Cardiology. “The results included nearly a quarter million people and point to a finding of global health care importance that promises to translate into a rise in cardiovascular disease globally.”

Researchers said while certain genetic variants can already be linked to coronary artery disease, heart attack and COVID-19 infection, they worked to complete a genetic analysis to see if those variants could contribute to elevated coronary artery disease risk after COVID. 

The known genetic variants were not found to be drivers of the enhanced cardiovascular events post COVID-19. The data instead highlighted a tie between elevated risk and blood type. 

“These findings reveal while it’s an upper respiratory tract infection, COVID-19 has a variety of health implications and underscores that we should consider history of prior COVID-19 infection when formulating cardiovascular disease preventive plans and goals,” said Hazen in a release. “The association uncovered by our research indicates a potential interaction between the virus and the piece of our genetic code that determines blood type and signals the need for further investigation. A better understanding of what COVID-19 does at the molecular level may potentially teach us about pathways linked to cardiovascular disease risk.”

Hooman Allayee, co-senior author of the paper, said the data shows a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes among COVID-19 patients with A, B, or AB blood types.

“Given our collective observations and that 60% of the world's population have these non-O blood types, our study raises important questions about whether more aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction efforts should be considered, possibly by taking into consideration an individual's genetic makeup," Allayee said in a release.

The authors agree that the findings show long-term risk associated with COVID-19 will continue to pose a significant burden to public health and that further investigation is needed. The research was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.