A recent article has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association discussing a study done on over 150,000 people after they had covid. The study found that as far as one year afterwards or more, people who have had covid have an increased long term risk for various cardiovascular diseases including strokes, dysrhythmias, clogged arteries, heart inflammation, heart failure and blood clots.
The most common long term complication was atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder that, on its own, can lead to clotting and strokes, if left untreated.
It is not yet known whether or not this increased risk will always be there, or if things will change in people over time and their risks will drop back down to where they would have been prior to covid. What is known, however, is that there are a wide variety of things a person can do to reduce risk of cardiovascular problems post-covid (or in general), via the types of healthy diet and lifestyle choices I recommend to many of my patients.
Perhaps even more importantly, it is also very possible to use lab testing and other types of investigations to see if having covid might have caused some problems in your cardiovascular system. Testing for inflammation and clotting markers, evaluating artery health, and doing imaging studies are some things that you can do to be pro-active. I would recommend any of my patients who have had covid to have these evaluations done as soon as possible. There are also home tools you can use to monitor some aspects of cardiovascular health, like blood pressure and heart rhythm, which can further increase your understanding of where your cardiovascular health lies post-covid.
What About Vaccines?
It's very important to note that there is a distinct theoretical possibility that any cardiovascular risks or negative impacts caused by covid may also be caused by covid vaccines. Combining the fact that many negative impacts caused by covid may be due to the spike protein alone, plus the fact that every condition noted in the study above has also been reported by thousands of people soon after getting vaccinated, it would be silly not to be aware of this possibility. Because of this, I would look at every one who has been vaccinated the same way I would look at them if they had covid, and act accordingly in terms of thoroughly evaluating their cardiovascular risks. It is already my primary professional goal to help as many people as possible prevent heart attacks and strokes, and covid (and possibly vaccinations) have apparently added to that challenge. If you, or anyone you know has had covid or been vaccinated, please be proactive in assuring that your cardiovascular system is fairing well. As always, I am here to help and able to work with and order tests for people around the country. Please schedule an appointment if you would like to discuss this further, and PLEASE SHARE THIS POST!
