FOR most people, Covid-19 is now like a common cold, with symptoms such as a sore throat and a runny nose.
But experts have revealed that some survivors could experience life-threatening side effects after the initial infection.
People who have survived Covid are at risk of potentially fatal complications later on, when they are no longer acutely sick.
Millions of people have now received booster vaccines and health experts have repeatedly said that jabs are the best way to keep everyone safe from Omicron.
Omicron has been found to be milder than the other variants that came before.
Experts at Washington University in St Louis, US, focused on the health of patients in the first year after contracting Covid.
Analysis of 150,000 Covid-positive people found that the rate of conditions such as coronary disease, strokes and heart failure, was noticeably higher in those who were infected compared to those who had not.
The researchers said that this difference was also visible in people who had mild cases of the virus – so may not have been hospitalised with the bug.
The risk of heart attack increased by 63 per cent after Covid, and the risk of suffering from coronary artery disease or a stroke, was higher at 72 per cent and 52 per cent.
Another study used databases from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and found that people who contracted Covid were more likely to develop mental health issues over the year after initial diagnosis.
The experts said: “The body of evidence on long Covid — from our work and others — suggests the need to reframe our thinking about SARS-CoV-2.
“It is not only a respiratory virus; it is a systemic virus that may provoke damage and clinical consequences in nearly every organ system — including mental health disorders and neurocognitive decline.”
The study looked at millions of mainly white men, so the experts said it wouldn’t be an accurate representation of how the illness has impacted all groups.
They found that the overall risk of developing any mental health issue increased to 64.38 additional cases per 1,000 people after one year.
There was an increase in disorders such as anxiety, depressive disorders and stress and adjustment disorders.
