A new study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, in collaboration with UCLA and Cleveland Clinic, shows that patients who were hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in 2020 face an increased risk of major cardiac events similar to the risk conferred by having a medical history of heart disease. The findings, based on data from more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases, could help shape clinical guidelines on preventing heart problems in people who had a severe case of the virus.

Early in the pandemic, it became clear that COVID-19 infection was linked to an increased risk of blood clots and other cardiovascular problems, both during and after the acute phase of infection. But a lack of clear research showing how long that risk lasts and what factors influence it means there are not yet official clinical guidelines with respect to cardiovascular disease prevention strategies for individuals who developed COVID-19.

The new research, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, a journal of the American Heart Association, is beginning to fill that gap.

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