Study shows there is persistence of viral debris in the artery. COVID is more than a respiratory virus and that it can affect the whole body. Doctors and patients to be aware of an increased cardiovascular risk after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and to pay extra attention to traditional risk factors, such as blood pressure and cholesterol.
This study showing that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus directly infects coronary artery plaques, producing inflammatory substances, really joins the dots and helps our understanding on why we're seeing so much heart disease in COVID patients.
Asked whether this direct infection of vascular plaques was unique to SARS-CoV-2 or whether this may also occur with other viruses, both Giannarelli and Hotez said they believe this may be a specific COVID effect.
Using an ex vivo model, the researchers also found that atherosclerotic tissue could be directly infected by the virus. And just as was seen in cultured macrophages and foam cells, infection of vascular tissue triggered an inflammatory response. That response induced the secretion of key proatherogenic cytokines, such as interluekin-6 and interleukin-1 beta, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and in an increased risk of cardiovascular events.
Another interesting finding was a higher accumulation of viral RNA in the coronary vasculature of the three patients with acute ischemic cardiovascular manifestations, which they say adds to evidence that infection may increase cardiovascular risk.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/997638
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