A meta-analysis of 155 observational studies “ties influenza, COVID-19, hepatitis C, and herpes zoster (shingles) to a dramatically higher risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke in the weeks after infection, and viruses that linger in the body (eg, HIV) can raise long-term risk.” CIDRAP has the news.
The 155 studies were published from 1997 to July 2024. Self-controlled case studies “tied flu to a fourfold elevated risk of heart attack…and a fivefold higher risk of stroke during the first 1 month, and cohort studies suggested a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) with hepatitis C infection and stroke.” Also, “HIV was consistently linked to a higher risk of CHD and stroke, as was SARS-CoV-2.” Shingles was also associated with elevated risk that “translates into a large number of excess cases of cardiovascular disease at the population level.”
The study authors wrote that “viral infections trigger the immune system to release substances that lead to inflammation and increase the risk of blood clots, processes that may persist long after initial infection and raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.”
The team also called for “more research on the possible relationship between the risk of heart disease risk and cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex 1 (the virus that causes cold sores), hepatitis A, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), chikungunya, dengue (a mosquito-borne virus), and human papillomavirus (which can cause cervical and other cancers).”
