Health
COVID-19 Linked to Blood Vessel Aging, Study Finds
Health Points
- COVID-19 can speed up blood vessel aging, even after mild cases.
- Women may experience more vascular effects than men.
- Physical activity and medication can help reverse damage.
Recent research found that COVID-19 may increase blood vessel stiffness, a sign of faster aging, in adults from 16 countries. The study measured vascular health and showed that women who had COVID were more affected than those who never caught the virus.
Men did not display the same changes in blood vessel health based on infection status. The difference might be related to how women’s immune systems respond to COVID-19.
“Women mount a more rapid and robust immune response, which can protect them from infection,” says Dr. Rosa Maria Bruno, lead author and pharmacology professor at Université Paris Cité.
Dr. Bruno explained that while this strong response helps women survive infection, it might also increase their risk of blood vessel damage, potentially speeding up vascular aging.
In the study, women with mild COVID had blood vessel test results that indicated premature aging by about five years, and those who spent time in an ICU saw an effect equal to ten years. Vaccinated individuals generally showed less vascular aging than those who were unvaccinated.
Dr. Behnood Bikdeli of Harvard Medical School, not involved in the study, notes, “The less severe the infection and its resultant inflammation, the less likely it is that a person develops severe vascular damage.”
Encouragingly, experts emphasize that accelerated vascular aging is detectable and treatable. Regular physical activity and appropriate medications can help improve blood vessel health and reduce heart risk.
