New evidence shows for the first time that the virus that causes COVID directly infects atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries, producing a persistent inflammatory response.
The findings may not only explain the link between COVID and the increased risk of cardiovascular events but mark a starting point for new therapeutic approaches.
"Our study shows there is persistence of viral debris in the artery," senior investigator Chiara Giannarelli, MD, associate professor of medicine and pathology at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, told Medscape. "There is an important inflammatory response. We can now look at ways to control this inflammation," she said.
Giannarelli says COVID is more than a respiratory virus and that it can affect the whole body. "Our study shows a remarkable ability of the virus to hijack the immune system," she points out. "Our findings may explain how that happens."