Covid-19 diagnosis, people were 21 times more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke, conditions mainly caused by blood clots in arteries.
Notably, after 4 weeks, the likelihood dropped to 3.9 times, according to the study. The team, led by researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Swansea University, UK, also studied conditions caused by blood clots in veins, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, the latter being potentially fatal, according to PTI report.
Additionally, they found that in the first week of diagnosis, people were 33 times more likely to develop blood clots in the veins, and after 4 weeks, 8 times more likely.
While a higher risk of blood clots after Covid-19 remained for the entire study duration, from week 26 to week 49, the likelihood of blood clots developing had dropped to 1.3 times in arteries and 1.8 times in veins, the report said. “We are reassured that the risk drops quite quickly – particularly for heart attacks and strokes – but the finding that it remains elevated for some time highlights the longer-term effects of Covid-19 that we are only beginning to understand," said Jonathan Sterne, who co-led the study.