Patients who’ve been hospitalized with severe COVID-19 have everlasting changes of their cholesterol 3 months after recovery, based on a study from the University of Oslo. This increases their risk of developing heart disease later in life.

Many clinicians and scientists have wondered whether COVID-19 disease affects people’s health later in life. Several recent studies have shown that there may be an association between COVID-19 and heart disease. Does being severely sick with COVID-19 increase people’s risk of developing heart disease?

“Recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 increases the danger of heart problems. Nonetheless, the mechanisms for this are still unclear”, Ida Gregersen, a researcher on the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, says.

Norwegian researchers have found that patients, who had been hospitalized with severe COVID-19, have everlasting changes of their cholesterol after their recovery.

“We imagine that COVID-19 increases the danger of developing heart disease later in life, and that these changes is a possible explanation for this increased risk”, Bente Halvorsen, Professor on the University of Oslo and the Principal Investigator of the study, says.

“Bad” LDL cholesterol increases the danger of heart disease

Cholesterol is certainly one of the body’s fatty substances and is a crucial constructing block within the body. There are several types of cholesterol, certainly one of which is LDL, which is comprised of several LDL particles.
“LDL is answerable for transporting fat within the body and is typically called the “bad cholesterol”, Gregersen says.

It is named the bad cholesterol because high levels of LDL cholesterol within the blood raises your risk for heart disease and stroke.

“It’s a well known incontrovertible fact that the danger of heart problems increases with high levels of LDL within the blood. As well as, the danger also increases when there are changes within the composition of the LDL particles”, she says.

Changes in LDL particles seen in patients who has recovered from severe COVID-19

The researchers observed such changes in LDL composition in these patients, 3 month after they recovered from severe COVID-19.

“Patients who’ve had severe COVID-19 have had the composition of those LDL particles modified after their illness. Amongst other things, they contain several inflammatory substances”, says Gregersen.
Such changes can influence these LDL particles to gather within the partitions of your blood vessels. This may drive the event of heart disease in the long run.

“We due to this fact imagine that severe COVID-19 causes long-term changes within the composition of LDL particles, i.e. within the body’s system for transporting fat across the body. It could potentially give the patients an increased risk of heart problems later, but we do not know that yet”, she says.

We are able to prevent heart disease once we know more concerning the risk

It will be significant that folks who’ve had severe COVID-19 are aware of their increased risk of heart problems, based on the researchers.

“It’s incredibly necessary that patients who’ve had severe COVID-19 know that they could have a modified composition of cholesterol of their body. We all know from previous research that they’ve a greater risk of heart problems later in life”, Halvorsen says.

By identifying individuals who have an increased risk, it is feasible to interact in preventive measures. Amongst other things, there are effective measures geared toward individuals with high levels of LDL cholesterol of their blood.

“The more we all know, the more we are able to prevent and treat that risk. We have now tools to treat the danger of heart disease in individuals with elevated LDL”, she says.

Lifestyle aspects resembling smoking and obesity are also necessary

Halvorsen recommends that those that have had severe COVID-19 disease follow up with their general practitioner. To seek out out if you have got a better risk of developing heart problems, you’ll be able to ask for a blood test.

“We cannot say of course that these patients actually will develop cardiovascular diseases. Environmental aspects and lifestyle aspects resembling smoking, obesity and hypertension will play a job in whether this may develop further”, Halvorsen says.

Recent method can isolate and measure changes in LDL particles

The researchers have investigated a selected characteristic of the LDL particles, so-called LDL aggregation, which is when the LDL particles group together within the blood vessels. To research LDL aggregation, the researchers collaborated with the Wihuri Research Institute in Finland which have established a technique that may isolate and measure these changes in LDL.

“We all know that LDL can aggregate, i.e. group together. Nonetheless, this method can obtain quantitative measures that may show whether there may be a change in LDL aggregation within the blood. We are able to due to this fact use this as a measure of risk for cardiovascular”, Halvorsen explains.

Persistent changes in LDL indicate an lively immune activation

“The incontrovertible fact that these differences in LDL composition are seen 3 months after patients recovered from COVID-19, is essential”, Halvorsen points out.

LDL has a plasma half-life of only a couple of days before it’s renewed. Half-life means the time it takes for LDL to diminish by half. After a couple of days, latest LDL is produced. Normally, one would thus expect the changes in LDL composition to vanish after a couple of days.

“After we still see changes in LDL composition after 3 months, it suggests that COVID-19 can result in long-term disturbances within the system that transports fat in our body. As well as, the LDL carries inflammatory markers. This shows us that there remains to be immune activation within the body 3 months after recovering from COVID-19”, Halvorsen explains. The professor believes the findings are surprising.
“We saw significant differences in the best way LDL grouped together, between healthy individuals who didn’t have COVID-19, and these patients, who had been sick and hospitalised with severe COVID-19. For me, this is kind of sensational. This can be a latest finding, and it is going to be interesting to see how this develops further”, Halvorsen says.

Analyzed blood samples from the primary COVID-19 patients in Norway

The researchers analyzed blood samples from 66 individuals who had been hospitalized with severe COVID-19, taken during a check-up 3 months after being discharged from hospital. These patients were hospitalized in the course of the first wave of COVID-19 in March 2020. The researchers then compared these samples with 42 healthy adults who served as controls, and checked whether aspects resembling age, gender and ethnicity played a job.

More research is required

“Our data suggest latest mechanisms for increased cardiovascular risk in COVID-19 patients. Nonetheless, further and bigger studies that may examine the association between these LDL characteristics and the event of cardiovascular diseases, is required to support our findings further”, Halvorsen concludes.

Source:

University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine

Journal reference:

Ueland, T., et al. (2023). Low-density lipoprotein particles carrying proinflammatory proteins with altered aggregation pattern detected in COVID-19 patients 3 months after hospitalization. Journal of Infection. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2023.02.024.