People who were diagnosed with severe COVID-19 infections from the first wave of the pandemic could face double the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study has found. Researchers focused on the long-term cardiovascular risks for unvaccinated people who were sick with the virus during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020.

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.