Covid-19 continues to be a powerful risk factor for future heart attacks and strokes for almost three years following the infection, a large new study suggests.

People infected with COVID-19 appear to face a higher risk of heart attack and stroke for up to three years, a new study finds.

People hospitalized for COVID-19 early in the pandemic suffered an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and other serious "cardiac events," researchers say.

People hospitalized for COVID had about the same risk of a major cardiac event as people with heart disease who never had COVID, researchers found. Results also showed that any type of COVID infection -- mild to severe -- doubles the risk of a major cardiac event for up to three years following illness.

The findings suggest that being hospitalized for COVID-19 in 2020 was a "coronary artery disease risk equivalent," conferring a higher risk for future heart attacks, strokes or death in people without a history of cardiovascular disease than the risk for people with a history who didn't have COVID.

By Stephen Beech via SWNS COVID-19 doubles the risk of a heart attack, stroke or dying up to three years later, according to a new study. The danger is even

COVID-19 could be a powerful risk factor for heart attacks and strokes for as long as three years after an infection, a large new study suggests.