Medics have issued a warning over a deadly Covid side effect which could affect sufferers months, or even years, after they catch the virus.
Their new study has revealed that people who had the virus, faced as much as a 72 per cent higher risk of heart failure 12 months after infection.
Even people who did not have a severe bout of Covid, it was found they could still develop issues.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed Nature Medicine journal , but was completed before vaccines were developed, so does not take into account their effect.
It found that long-term effects of Covid could be seen in the heart and vascular system.
This included heart failure, cardiac arrest, strokes, blood clots and more.
The experts looked at data for over 11 million US veterans, including 154,000 who suffered from Covid.
Their conclusions estimated the risks within a year of catching Covid for around 20 separate cardiovascular diseases.
It found that those who had Covid a year before were at a significantly higher risk compared to those who hadn’t had Covid.
Without the impact of the vaccine, it means that unvaccinated Brits face a worrying side effect if they do catch Covid.
Their risk would rise the more serious their bout of Covid was.
Speaking to Fox News, Eveline Grayver, director of women’s heart health at Northwell Health in New York discussed the results.
She wasn’t involved in the study, and said: “There were 20 cardiac disorders that were diagnosed for those patients that are suffering from long haul Covid.
"The most common is the shortness of breath and fatigue.
“The new arrhythmias, or the abnormal heart rhythms that people experience, are significant as well and can become incredibly handicapping for a lot of patients."
This comes as cases in the UK continue their decline since a sharp increase into mid-March.
This led to worries as it came alongside the same time when the government rolled back the final Covid restrictions and regulations.
Many were worried it would lead to a spike in cases, leading to rises in hospitalisations and deaths.
However, despite peaks near 100,000 new cases reported a day, they have now fallen to around 30,000 and seem set to continue their decline.
Deaths have been rising in recent weeks, along with the expected lag from booms in cases due to the time it takes for Covid to hospitalise and then kill people.
Currently deaths stand around 300 reported a day, having doubled from around 150 in mid-March.
