An infection covids, especially in women, can lead to blood vessels aging about five years, according to research published in the European Heart Journal August 18, 2025.
Blood vessels are gradually becoming more rigid with age, but the new study suggests that Covid could speed up this process. Researchers say that is important because people with more rigid blood vessels face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including a stroke and a heart attack.
The study was led by Professor Rosa Maria Bruno of Paris Cité University, France.
From the pandemic, we have learned that many people who have had covids end up with symptoms that can last months or even years. However, we always learn what’s going on in the body to create these symptoms. “”
Rosa Maria Bruno, professor, Paris Cité University
Bruno added: “We know that Covid can directly affect blood vessels. We believe that this can lead to what we call early vascular aging, which means that your blood vessels are older than your chronological age and that you are more sensitive to heart disease. If this happens, we must identify who is at risk at an early stage to prevent heart attacks and lines. »»
The study included 2,390 people from 16 different countries (Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Turkey, United Kingdom and Unity States.
The researchers evaluated the vascular age of each person with a device that measures the speed with which a wave of blood pressure moves between the carotid artery (in the neck) and the femoral arteries (in the legs), a measure called speed of carotid-femoral pulse waves (PWV). The higher this measure, the higher the blood vessels, the higher the vascular age of a person. The measures were taken six months after an infection coche and again after 12 months.
Researchers have also recorded demographic information such as patient’s gender, age and other factors that can influence cardiovascular health.
After taking these factors into consideration, the researchers noted that the three groups of patients who had been infected with the cocoat, including those with light cocoas, had more rigid arteries, compared to those which had not been infected. The effect was higher in women than in men and in people who experienced the persistent symptoms of the long cocvid, such as shortness of breath and fatigue.
The average increase in PWV in women who had a light covid was 0.55 meters per second, 0.60 in women hospitalized with COVID and 1.09 for women treated in intensive care. Researchers say
An increase of approximately 0.5 meters per second is “clinically relevant” and equivalent to aging of approximately five years, with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, in a woman of 60 years.
People who had been vaccinated against Covid generally had less rigid arteries than unvaccinated people. In the longer term, vascular aging associated with a cocovated infection seemed to stabilize or improve slightly.
Professor Bruno added: “There are several possible explanations on the vascular effects of COVID. Inflammation of the body and immune responses, which defend themselves against infections, can also be involved.
“One of the reasons for the difference between women and men could be differences in the function of the immune system. Women are riding a faster and robust immune response, which can protect them from infection. However, this same response may also increase damage to blood vessels after the initial infection.
“Vascular aging is easy to measure and can be discussed with widely available treatments, such as lifestyle changes, hypotestric drugs and hypocholesterol. For people with accelerated vascular aging, it is important to do everything possible to reduce the risk of heart attacks and blows. »»
Professor Bruno and his colleagues will continue to follow the participants in the coming years to determine whether the accelerated vascular aging they have found led to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in the future.
In an editorial that accompanies him, Dr. Behnood Bikdeli of the Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA and his colleagues said: “Although the acute threat of the Cavid-19 pandemic has declined, a new challenge appeared to its consequences: COVVI-19 Post-Aigu syndrome The initial survivors of COVID-19 develop this syndrome.
“This major multicenter and multicenter cohort study has scored 2390 participants of 34 centers to determine whether arterial rigidity, measured by the PWV, has persisted in people with recent differences from COVID-19. (Observed in those who require admission to USI.
“The Cartesian study argues 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 overvoltages of infection, and alleviate negative results in people with vascular aging induced by COVID-19. »»