Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have since fallen off, the result of widespread vaccinations and the population’s growing immunity against severe disease. But SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is still with us, along with the risk it poses to heart health, especially in people with blocked arteries, hypertension, diabetes, and other predisposing factors. Millions of people who recover from COVID-19 have gone on to develop lingering cardiovascular symptoms, including abnormal heartbeats, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
The number of COVID-19 cases is once again spiking — and the coronavirus continues to evolve. The latest omicron variant, BA.2.86, has more than thirty mutations that could allow it to evade the immune system’s defenses. Given the ongoing threat, research into COVID-19’s cardiovascular effects “remains vitally important,” says Anne-Marie Anagnostopoulos, a cardiologist and an HMS instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “We need a greater understanding of the associated pathophysiology to develop better treatments.”
