Publication date: May 24, 2026
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with an increased long-term cardiovascular risk, potentially mediated by magnitude of the acute inflammatory response inflammation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and serum amyloid A (SAA) are key components of the inflammatory cascade and may serve as biomarkers of post-COVID cardiovascular vulnerability. This longitudinal observational study investigated the association between post- COVID-19 infection IL-6 and SAA levels and major cardiovascular events over a six-year follow-up period. A total of 97 individuals with documented prior SARS-CoV-2 infection were included. Circulating IL-6 and SAA concentrations were measured in the acute phase. The composite endpoint included incident arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality. Biomarker distributions were right-skewed and were therefore analyzed using non-parametric methods and penalized logistic regression models. During follow-up, 14. 4% of participants experienced the composite endpoint. Individuals with adverse outcomes had significantly higher IL-6 and SAA levels compared with event-free participants. IL-6 demonstrated the strongest association with mortality, whereas SAA showed particularly robust associations with the composite endpoint, and with myocardial infarction. Both biomarkers independently predicted long-term adverse events. Circulating IL-6 and SAA concentrations measured during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection were analyzed in relation to long-term cardiovascular outcomes. These findings support the hypothesis that the magnitude of the acute inflammatory response during SARS-CoV-2 infection may be associated with long-term cardiovascular outcomes and suggest that combined assessment of IL-6 and SAA may have potential utility for hypothesis-generating prognostic signal requiring validation, pending validation in larger studies.
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Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | Infection |
| disease | MESH | inflammation |
| pathway | REACTOME | SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| disease | MESH | included |
| disease | MESH | arrhythmia |
| disease | MESH | myocardial infarction |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Coenzyme M |
| disease | MESH | severe acute respiratory syndrome |
| disease | MESH | cytokine storm |
| disease | MESH | respiratory failure |
| disease | MESH | atherosclerosis |
| disease | MESH | thrombosis |
| disease | MESH | heart failure |
| disease | MESH | death |
| disease | MESH | injury |
| disease | MESH | cardiovascular disease |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Canakinumab |
| disease | MESH | ischemic heart disease |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Angiotensin II |
| disease | MESH | hypertension |
| disease | MESH | diabetes mellitus |