Covid survivors face double risk of getting lung blood clots, CDC study warns

Survivors of Covid-19 have twice the risk of developing a blood clot in the lungs or a respiratory condition, according to a new study by the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Published on Tuesday, the study by the US government body said adults aged between 18 and 64 years have an increased risk of developing pulmonary embolism – a clot in an artery of the lung – or other respiratory conditions like chronic cough or shortness of breath.

One in five Covid survivors in this age range and one in four survivors over the age of 65 years have experienced “at least one incident condition that might be attributable to the previous infection”, it said.

With an increasing number of Covid-19 infections, many patients have complained of persisting post-infection conditions or the onset of long-term symptoms, which include a wide array of health issues.

However, more research is needed to better understand who is more likely to experience “Long Covid”.

The study was based on the analysis of patient records of those who had the coronavirus infection between March 2020 and November 2021, and they were followed for 30 to 365 days after the infection, till the onset of any health conditions or the end of the period.

The data was then compared with others in a control group to determine the likelihood of these conditions.

The CDC study suggests that Covid prevention strategies as well as routine assessment for post-Covid conditions among persons who survive are critical to reducing the incidence.

However, it had certain limitations as it did not consider the vaccination status of the subjects.

Several studies in the past, including ones from CDC, have pointed out that Covid survivors may have an increased risk of health conditions and require extensive follow-up care.

Till now, over 80 million people in the United States have contracted Covid-19, and more than one million have died due to the virus.