Importance: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may trigger cardiorespiratory events in adults.
Objective: To assess the risk of cardiorespiratory events in the 180 days following RSV-related hospitalization compared with a control period in adults.
Design, setting, and participants: This self-controlled case series study had an observation period from January 1, 2017, through March 31, 2024. Data were obtained from the deidentified Optum Market Clarity Dataset, including RSV-related hospitalization and associated outcomes, which were identified based on diagnosis codes. Adults with 1 or more RSV-related hospitalizations and 1 or more cardiorespiratory events (myocardial infarction [MI], stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] exacerbation, congestive heart failure [CHF] exacerbation, and arrhythmia) were included.
Exposure: RSV-related hospitalization.
Main outcomes and measures: A conditional Poisson regression model was fitted to compare the incidence of cardiorespiratory events during the risk period (ie, ≤180 days after RSV-related hospital index date) and control periods (ie, >21 days before or >180 days after the index date). Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% CIs were estimated and adjusted for time-varying covariates.
Results: A total of 11 887 patients (mean [SD] age, 69.4 [15.5] years; 7303 females [61.4%]) with RSV-related hospitalization were included. An increased risk was associated with each cardiorespiratory event during the first 14 days following RSV-related hospitalization, with the highest IRR estimates observed in the initial 7 days. For MI, the IRRs were 8.7 (95% CI, 6.7-11.2) during days 1 to 7, decreasing to 5.2 (95% CI, 3.7-7.2) during days 8 to 14 and 2.6 (95% CI, 1.6-4.3) during days 15 to 21. For stroke, the IRRs were 7.4 (95% CI, 5.5-10.1), 5.9 (95% CI, 4.2-8.3), and 3.7 (95% CI, 2.3-5.9) during the first 3 weeks with a similar pattern for CHF exacerbation (12.5 [95% CI, 10.5-14.8], 4.1 [95% CI, 3.1-5.5], and 2.4 [95% CI, 1.6-3.6], respectively). For COPD exacerbation and arrhythmia, the IRRs decreased during the first 3 weeks from 23.1 (95% CI, 20.2-26.5) through day 7 to 1.3 (95% CI, 0.8-2.4) during days 15 to 21 and from 16.5 (95% CI, 14.5-18.7) to 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1-2.5), respectively.
Conclusions and relevance: This study demonstrated that RSV, similar to influenza and SARS-CoV-2, was associated with an increased risk of cardiorespiratory events 2 weeks following RSV-related hospitalization, and some conditions had significant risk elevations up to 180 days after admission. The findings reinforce the need to increase RSV immunization in adults.