Even a mild infection with COVID-19 can promote clogged arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack in some people, a new study says.

Plaques grew more rapidly in COVID patients, increasing by 0.9% a year compared with 0.6% a year among the uninfected, results show. COVID patients were also more likely to have high-risk plaques, 21% versus 16%, and heart-related inflammation, 27% versus 20%, researchers found.

Aside from the potential curse of long COVID, people who've had the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be more likely to develop high levels of biomarkers for brain proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease, scientists report in a new study.

This study builds on prior research linking COVID-19 to systemic inflammation and long-term cardiovascular complications,” says study senior author Junbo Ge, MD, a professor