Korean Circulation Journal

The Korean Society of Cardiology (대한심장학회)
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Preparations for the Assessment of COVID-19 Infection and Long-Term Cardiovascular Risk

  • Jaehun Jung (Artificial Intelligence and Big-Data Convergence Center, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine)
  • Received : 2022.09.07
  • Accepted : 2022.09.26
  • Published : 2022.11.01
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Abstract

Studies showing that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease continue to be published. However, studies on how long the overall cardiovascular risk increases after COVID-19 and the magnitude of its long-term effects have only been confirmed recently. This is partly because the distinction between cardiovascular risk as an acute complication of COVID-19 or post-acute cardiovascular manifestations is ambiguous. Long-COVID has arisen as an important topic in the second half of the pandemic. This term indicates that symptoms persist for more than two 2 months; following three months of SARS-CoV-2 infection and cannot be explained by other medical conditions. Despite the agreement of these international organizations and experts, it is difficult to define whether there is sufficient medical evidence to prove the existence of long-COVID. However, the Korean government and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) are preparing a new platform to assess the long-term impact of COVID-19. Using this data, a prospective cohort of 10,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases will be established. This cohort will be linked with claims data from the National Health Insurance Services (NHIS) and it is expected that increased real-world evidence of long-COVID will be accumulated.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a grant from National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Korea government (NRF-2021R1C1C101177411). Also, this research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Republic of Korea (grant number: HD22C2045). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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