Since nearly the start of the pandemic, scientists have known that a Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems. A growing body of research now suggests that this risk can last until well after the infection has cleared.

One recent study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California and Cleveland Clinic, found that a Covid-19 infection doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years afterward. What’s more, the study found that infections severe enough to require hospitalization increased the likelihood of cardiac events as much as — or more than — having previously had a heart attack did.

“A lot of people are at even greater risk of heart attack than they were before,” said Dr. David Goff, director for the cardiovascular sciences division at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which provided funding for the study. “And heart disease is already the leading cause of death on our planet before the pandemic. So this is really concerning.”

Given the volume of evidence now linking Covid-19 to heart inflammation, heart failure, arrhythmia and other cardiovascular issues, experts said, doctors should be taking a closer look at patients’ Covid history.