HAVING an unhealthy heart could lead to a higher risk of being diagnosed with Covid-19, new research shows.

A study by the University of Southampton’s Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and Queen Mary University of London has found that people with unhealthy heart structures and poorer functioning hearts have a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with the virus.

A “comprehensive and internationally unique” UK Biobank database, which includes health and genetic information from over half a million participants was used as part of the study.

The database includes detailed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of participants hearts as well as linkages to Covid-19 test results from Public Health England.

The team looked at records from 310 Biobank participants to see whether pre-existing features of the heart anatomy and function were linked to having a positive test result.

The findings have been published in the journal of Aging Clinical and Experimental research.

Relationships are said to have appeared important even after accounting for possible predisposing factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and previous heart attacks.

Professor Nicholas Harvey, Professor of Rheumatology and Clinical Epidemiology at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, co-supervised the work.

He said: “This national collaboration and the wealth of information available in the UK Biobank database permitted a highly detailed analysis, providing novel and unique insights into the complex interactions between the heart and COVID-19.

“It illustrates the importance for the University of Southampton and the MRC LEU of our ongoing contribution to the leadership of the large, state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary Imaging Study as part of the unique world-leading UK Biobank resource.”