Covid-19 infection increases risk of severe blood clots for one year: Study

Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus increases the risk of potentially life-threatening blood clots for at least 49 weeks, according to a study conducted in the UK.

The research, published recently in the journal Circulation, found that in the first week following a COVID-19 diagnosis, people were 21 times more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke, conditions mainly caused by blood clots in arteries.

After 4 weeks, the likelihood dropped to 3.9 times, according to the study.

The team, led by researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Swansea University, UK, also studied conditions caused by blood clots in veins, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, the latter being potentially fatal.

They found that in the first week of diagnosis, people were 33 times more likely to develop blood clots in the veins, and after 4 weeks, 8 times more likely.

While a higher risk of blood clots after COVID-19 remained for the entire study duration, from