Finland: Study on Infections and Cardiovascular Events

A new study has revealed that infections severe enough to require hospital treatment are associated with an increased risk of major cardiovascular events after hospitalization, both in the short term and the long term, pointed out a study published in Circulation - American Heart Association Journal.

Hospitalized patients with severe bacterial or viral infections hospitalized over a month have an increased risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event, according to a UK Biobank analysis.

Study Overview

The study was a multicohort study and estimated the population-attributable fraction for severe infections and major cardiovascular events using data from over 331,683 participants in the UK Biobank study and over 271,533 participants in three prospective cohort studies in Finland. Researchers measured baseline cardiovascular risk factors and linked participants to hospital and mortality registers to diagnose infections and major cardiovascular events.

Clinical Findings

• The study found that of the 54,434 participants who had been hospitalized for an infection, 11,649 participants experienced an increased risk of major cardiovascular events compared to those without a record of infectious disease.
• The association was strongest during the first month after infection but remained elevated throughout the follow-up period. The findings were similar in both the UK Biobank and the replication cohort.
• After adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers estimated that severe infections were responsible for 4.4% of major cardiovascular events in the UK Biobank and 6.1% in the replication cohort.

Implications for Public Health

The findings have far-reaching implications for public health. According to the findings, healthcare providers should be aware of the increased risk of major cardiovascular events in patients who have been hospitalized for an infection and should take steps to monitor and manage their patient’s cardiovascular health.

“The study emphasizes the importance of infection prevention and treatment in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the study also stated the residual confounding could not be ruled out, implying that other factors could have influenced the findings,” said Dr. Pyry Sipilä, the study's lead author.

Reference

Sipilä PN, Lindbohm JV, Batty GD, et al. Severe infection and risk of cardiovascular disease: a multicohort study. Circulation. 2023; Epub DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061183