Long-term Cardiovascular Outcomes in US Medicare Beneficiaries After COVID-19 Hospitalization During the…

Cohort studyCirculation. Population health and outcomes· Jul 2026

Long-term Cardiovascular Outcomes in US Medicare Beneficiaries After COVID-19 Hospitalization During the Omicron Era.

Sérgio R R Decker, Yang Song, Issa J Dahabreh … Dhruv S Kazi

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CardiologyCohort studyPrognosisQ1IF 13.2

Hospitalization for COVID-19 in the Omicron era was associated with a lower risk of death.

Long-term Cardiovascular Outcomes in US Medicare Beneficiaries After COVID-19 Hospitalization During the Omicron Era.

Sérgio R R Decker … Dhruv S Kazi

Circulation · Jul 2026

Background

COVID-19 hospitalization in the pre-Omicron era was associated with an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, but data from the Omicron era are sparse.

Methods

Retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Omicron era (November 2021-September2022), COVID-19 in the pre-Omicron era (March 2020-November 2021), and influenza (October 2017-September 2018).

n = 182 patients

Results

lower risk of death for older adults hospitalized with COVID-19 during Omicron

standardized risk diff -0.60 (95% CI -0.80 to -0.30)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

We included 1 184 182 patients (mean age 79 years; 51% women):361 382 in the Omicron cohort, 731 455 in the pre-Omicron cohort, and 91 345 in the influenza cohort.

More results

The risk of the primary outcome in the Omicron cohort was lower than in the pre-Omicron cohort (48.8% versus 49.3%; standardized risk difference, -0.6% [95% CI, -0.8% to -0.3%]) but higher than in the influenza cohort (48.8% versus 33.4%; risk difference, 15.4% [15.1%-15.6%]).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Among older adults hospitalized with COVID-19, the risk of death within 1 year was lower, and the risk of major adverse cardiovascular event was higher in the Omicron era than the pre-Omicron era; however, the risk of either outcome was higher than after influenza hospitalization.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

These findings underscore the need for effective cardiovascular prevention strategies after a COVID-19 hospitalization.

Long-term Cardiovascular Outcomes in US Medicare Beneficiaries After COVID-19 Hospitalization During the Omicron Era.

Long-term Cardiovascular Outcomes in US Medicare Beneficiaries After COVID-19 Hospitalization During the Omicron Era.

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