Long COVID and Cardiovascular Diseases Among U.S. Adults: Results From the U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

OBJECTIVE

Long COVID is associated with persistent symptoms including cardiovascular complications; however, the epidemiology and directionality of this association remain unclear.

METHODS

Utilizing a retrospective cohort study design with cross-sectional analyses, 8,332 respondents aged 18 and older from the 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) who had a prior COVID-19 infection, were analyzed to determine the temporal association between long COVID and cardiovascular disease (CVD), modeling each as both outcome and exposure in separate analyses.

RESULTS

Long COVID was associated with any CVD diagnosis (OR 1.37; 95% CI: 1.05-1.80), specifically angina (OR 1.81; 95% CI: 1.18-2.77) and myocardial infarction (OR 1.50; 95% CI: 1.01-2.23). Temporally, long COVID was associated with higher odds of CVD diagnoses in the same year or following year after COVID-19 (OR 2.62; 95% CI: 1.05-6.51) and in subsequent years only (OR 8.60; 95% CI: 1.53-48.3). Respondents with pre-existing CVD did not have statistically significant greater odds of reporting new long COVID symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate that long COVID is associated with the subsequent development of CVD, underscoring the need for further research in this patient population to improve health interventions.