COVID-19 and Your Heart

If you have heart disease or have had a heart attack or stroke, managing your health can be challenging – even during normal times. The COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of worry.

Fast forward to today. While COVID-19 now often causes mild, cold-like symptoms for many people, if you have heart disease, you’re still more likely to get very ill. And COVID can have significant and lasting effects on the heart.

COVID-19 can raise your risk of:

• Blood clots
• Inflammation of or damage to the heart muscle (myocarditis)
• Swelling of the sac surrounding the heart (pericarditis)
• Irregular heartbeats
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Heart failure

That’s why staying up to date with the latest COVID-19 vaccines is important.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. They work by teaching your immune system to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Research shows the vaccine also lowers the chance of developing long COVID, a condition that affects about 1 out of 10 people – even after seemingly mild illness.

Use this resource to find information about COVID-19, and tips to stay healthy and protect those around you.