A Covid-19 infection can accelerate ageing in blood vessels around five years, particularly in women, according to research.As blood vessels ages, it can make arteries stiffer — raising the risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, explained the researchers.
“We know that Covid can directly affect blood vessels. We believe that this may result in what we call early vascular ageing, meaning that your blood vessels are older than your chronological age and you are more susceptible to heart disease,” said Professor Rosa Maria Bruno from Université Paris Cité, France.
“If that is happening, we need to identify who is at risk at an early stage to prevent heart attacks and strokes,” Bruno said.
The study, published in the European Heart Journal, included 2,390 people from 16 different countries (Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Turkey, the UK, and the US) who were recruited between September 2020 and February 2022.
The results showed that all three groups of patients who had been infected with Covid, including those with mild Covid, had stiffer arteries compared to those who had not been infected.
The effect was greater in women than in men and in people who experienced the persistent symptoms of long Covid, such as shortness of breath and fatigue.
Notably, people who had been vaccinated against Covid generally had arteries that were less stiff than those of the unvaccinated. Over the longer term, the vascular ageing associated with Covid infection seemed to stabilise or improve slightly.
The Professor noted that one reason for the difference between women and men “could be differences in the function of the immune system”.
“Women mount a more rapid and robust immune response, which can protect them from infection. However, this same response can also increase damage to blood vessels after the initial infection,” Bruno said.