Covid may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke by prematurely aging blood vessels by five years, a new study has found. According to research published in the European Heart Journal, this would impact particularly women. Vaccinated individuals have a lower risk of stiffening in their arteries and showed stabilised symptoms over time, compared to people who had not been protected against Covid. Nearly 2,500 people from around the world were tested in the new study. They were categorised according to whether they already had Covid and according to its intensity. The tests were taken six months after an infection and then repeated after 12 months.
The test assessed each person’s vascular age using a device that measures how quickly a pulse wave travels from the artery in the neck to the arteries in the legs. A faster wave speed indicates stiffer blood vessels, which corresponds to an older vascular age. It found that all three groups of patients who had a Covid infection had stiffer arteries compared to those who hadn’t been affected.
Lead researcher Professor Rosa Maria Bruno, from Université Paris Cité, said: “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.
“If that is happening, we need to identify who is at risk at an early stage to prevent heart attacks and strokes.”
Immune systems could be causing the difference between men and women, according to Bruno. She said that women have a more robust and rapid immune response, which can protect them from infection. But the same response can also damage blood vessels after the initial infection.
The number of hospital patients with respiratory symptoms testing positive for the virus has increased from 5.8% on 26 July to 7.6% on 10 August, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Last month, a new Covid strain called the Stratus had spread across the UK, accounting for the highest proportion of cases – approximately 30%. Experts said the new strain resisted immunity and gave people a unique symptom of hoarse voice.