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A Danish study published in JAMA Network Open found that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was linked to a sustained rise in cardiovascular risk over 1 year in adults aged 45 years or older. In the study population, those with RSV (8,747 individuals) experienced 665 cardiovascular events vs 257 in matched controls (8,747 individuals without infection), yielding a 365-day excess risk of 4.69 percentage points. In this matched cohort study of 17,494 adults, early risk was concentrated in the first 30 days, but events continued to accumulate through 12 months. Arrhythmias and heart failure were the most common among the complications. Risk was highest among hospitalized patients and those with preexisting cardiovascular disease or diabetes, with excess risk reaching 12 percentage points in some groups. Overall, the cardiovascular risk profile following RSV resembled that seen after influenza, the authors say.
Clinical vigilance: A total of 6,045 individuals with RSV infection (69.1%) were hospitalized, and those who were hospitalized had the greatest risk differences for any cardiovascular event (6.61 percentage points) among the adults studied. The authors suggest providers should have heightened clinical vigilance for cardiovascular complications following any RSV infection.