The severity of the infection doesn’t seem to make a difference. These complications can occur even in people who have very mild symptoms. The big surprise is how much this can affect younger people. Studies are showing that even young, active people can experience heightened risk of these complications.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity: These are some of the well-known risk factors that can put people at heightened risk for heart attack and stroke.

Now some health experts say COVID-19 should be added to that list.

Early in the pandemic, experts began to understand COVID-19 as a vascular disease, not simply as a respiratory illness.

“We have a much better understanding of the nature of COVID today,” says Dr. Peter Liu, chief scientific officer and vice-president of research at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “COVID damages the inner linings of the blood vessels.”

That has implications for cardiovascular health, according to Liu, who is also a researcher for Heart & Stroke, which supports research, awareness and prevention campaigns in Canada.

In fact, Liu says, there is a growing movement to view COVID-19 as an additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease along with other well-known factors such as high cholesterol and diabetes.

“It causes inflammation of the blood vessels that can increase the risk of blood clots. We know it can, over time, lead to increased risk of having a heart attack, stroke, heart failure and things like that,” Liu says.

It’s well-known that high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking are among the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, Liu adds, and some experts want to see a previous serious COVID-19 infection treated as another one.

Heart & Stroke encourages physicians and patients to talk about recent COVID-19 infections in relation to cardiovascular disease. Liu says it is important for people with risk factors to do what they can to minimize those risks.