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The article is pretty long so I'll just post the main points. This doesn't bode well for people who are getting repeatedly infected.
FYI: The study was conducted between September 2020 and February 2022, so it doesn't even touch on multiple infections.
► Blood vessels gradually become stiffer with age, but the new study suggests that COVID could accelerate this process. Researchers say this is important since people with stiffer blood vessels face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack.
► "We know that COVID can directly affect blood vessels. We believe that this may result in what we call early vascular aging, meaning that your blood vessels are older than your chronological age and you are more susceptible to heart disease. If that is happening, we need to identify who is at risk at an early stage to prevent heart attacks and strokes."
► The study included 2,390 people (age 50 ± 15 years, 49.2% women) from 16 different countries (Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Turkey, UK and US) who were recruited between September 2020 to February 2022.
► They were categorized according to whether they:
1. Never had COVID
2. Had recent (6 ± 3 months) COVID but were not hospitalized
3. Hospitalized for COVID on a general ward
4. Hospitalized for COVID in an intensive care unit.
► Researchers found 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.
From the study:
"The main outcome was carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an established biomarker of large artery stiffness."
"In sëx-stratified analyses, PWV differences were significant in women but not in men. Among COVID-19 positive women, persistent symptoms were associated with higher PWV, regardless of disease severity and cardiovascular confounders."
"A stable or improved PWV after 12 months was found in the COVID+ groups, whereas a progression was observed in the COVID− group."
Reading further into the study, it seems some of the COVID- cohort were infected after the initial study, hence the progression of PWV (pulse wave velocity) after 12 months.
► "One of the reasons 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."
► "The CARTESIAN study makes the case that COVID-19 has aged our arteries, especially for female adults. The question is whether we can find modifiable targets to prevent this in future surges of infection, and mitigate adverse outcomes in those afflicted with COVID-19-induced vascular aging."
The article:
medicalxpress.com
The study:
Accelerated vascular ageing after COVID-19 infection: the CARTESIAN study
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430/8236450?login=false
FYI: The study was conducted between September 2020 and February 2022, so it doesn't even touch on multiple infections.
COVID infection ages blood vessels, especially in women, research reveals
A COVID infection, particularly in women, may lead to blood vessels aging around five years, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.► Blood vessels gradually become stiffer with age, but the new study suggests that COVID could accelerate this process. Researchers say this is important since people with stiffer blood vessels face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack.
► "We know that COVID can directly affect blood vessels. We believe that this may result in what we call early vascular aging, meaning that your blood vessels are older than your chronological age and you are more susceptible to heart disease. If that is happening, we need to identify who is at risk at an early stage to prevent heart attacks and strokes."
► The study included 2,390 people (age 50 ± 15 years, 49.2% women) from 16 different countries (Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Turkey, UK and US) who were recruited between September 2020 to February 2022.
► They were categorized according to whether they:
1. Never had COVID
2. Had recent (6 ± 3 months) COVID but were not hospitalized
3. Hospitalized for COVID on a general ward
4. Hospitalized for COVID in an intensive care unit.
► Researchers found 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.
From the study:
"The main outcome was carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an established biomarker of large artery stiffness."
"In sëx-stratified analyses, PWV differences were significant in women but not in men. Among COVID-19 positive women, persistent symptoms were associated with higher PWV, regardless of disease severity and cardiovascular confounders."
"A stable or improved PWV after 12 months was found in the COVID+ groups, whereas a progression was observed in the COVID− group."
Reading further into the study, it seems some of the COVID- cohort were infected after the initial study, hence the progression of PWV (pulse wave velocity) after 12 months.
► "One of the reasons 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."
► "The CARTESIAN study makes the case that COVID-19 has aged our arteries, especially for female adults. The question is whether we can find modifiable targets to prevent this in future surges of infection, and mitigate adverse outcomes in those afflicted with COVID-19-induced vascular aging."
The article:
COVID infection ages blood vessels, especially in women, research reveals
A COVID infection, particularly in women, may lead to blood vessels aging around five years, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.The study:
Accelerated vascular ageing after COVID-19 infection: the CARTESIAN study
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430/8236450?login=false
