Accelerated vascular ageing after COVID-19 infection : the CARTESIAN study
(2025) In European Heart Journal- Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Increasing evidence suggests that COVID-19 survivors experience long-term cardiovascular complications possibly through development of vascular damage. The study aimed to investigate whether accelerated vascular ageing occurs after COVID-19 infection, and if so, identify its determinants.
METHODS: This prospective, multicentric, cohort study, included 34 centres in 16 countries worldwide, in 4 groups of participants-COVID-19-negative controls (ⅰ) and three groups of individuals with recent (6 ± 3 months) exposure to SARS-CoV-2: not hospitalized (ⅱ), hospitalized in general wards (ⅲ), and hospitalized in intensive care units (ⅳ). The main outcome was carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an established... (More)
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Increasing evidence suggests that COVID-19 survivors experience long-term cardiovascular complications possibly through development of vascular damage. The study aimed to investigate whether accelerated vascular ageing occurs after COVID-19 infection, and if so, identify its determinants.
METHODS: This prospective, multicentric, cohort study, included 34 centres in 16 countries worldwide, in 4 groups of participants-COVID-19-negative controls (ⅰ) and three groups of individuals with recent (6 ± 3 months) exposure to SARS-CoV-2: not hospitalized (ⅱ), hospitalized in general wards (ⅲ), and hospitalized in intensive care units (ⅳ). The main outcome was carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an established biomarker of large artery stiffness.
RESULTS: 2390 individuals (age 50 ± 15 years, 49.2% women) were recruited. After adjustment for confounders, all COVID-19-positive groups showed higher PWV (+0.41, +0.37, and +0.40 m/s for groups 2-4, P < .001, P = .001 and P = .003) vs. controls [PWV 7.53 (7.09; 7.97) m/s adjusted mean (95% CI)]. In sex-stratified analyses, PWV differences were significant in women [PWV (+0.55, +0.60, and +1.09 m/s for groups 2-4, P < .001 for all)], but not in men. Among COVID-19 positive women, persistent symptoms were associated with higher PWV, regardless of disease severity and cardiovascular confounders [adjusted PWV 7.52 (95% CI 7.09; 7.96) vs. 7.13 (95% CI 6.67; 7.59) m/s, P < .001]. A stable or improved PWV after 12 months was found in the COVID+ groups, whereas a progression was observed in the COVID- group.
CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 is associated with early vascular ageing in the long term, especially in women.
(Less)
- author
- contributor
- Laucyte-Cibulskiene, Agne
LU
- author collaboration
- publishing date
- 2025-08-17
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- European Heart Journal
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:40819656
- ISSN
- 1522-9645
- DOI
- 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.
- id
- aefbe208-4dcf-4615-b924-a56978b7b5ff
- date added to LUP
- 2025-09-12 11:03:19
- date last changed
- 2025-10-02 13:39:18
@article{aefbe208-4dcf-4615-b924-a56978b7b5ff,
abstract = {{<p>BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Increasing evidence suggests that COVID-19 survivors experience long-term cardiovascular complications possibly through development of vascular damage. The study aimed to investigate whether accelerated vascular ageing occurs after COVID-19 infection, and if so, identify its determinants.</p><p>METHODS: This prospective, multicentric, cohort study, included 34 centres in 16 countries worldwide, in 4 groups of participants-COVID-19-negative controls (ⅰ) and three groups of individuals with recent (6 ± 3 months) exposure to SARS-CoV-2: not hospitalized (ⅱ), hospitalized in general wards (ⅲ), and hospitalized in intensive care units (ⅳ). The main outcome was carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an established biomarker of large artery stiffness.</p><p>RESULTS: 2390 individuals (age 50 ± 15 years, 49.2% women) were recruited. After adjustment for confounders, all COVID-19-positive groups showed higher PWV (+0.41, +0.37, and +0.40 m/s for groups 2-4, P < .001, P = .001 and P = .003) vs. controls [PWV 7.53 (7.09; 7.97) m/s adjusted mean (95% CI)]. In sex-stratified analyses, PWV differences were significant in women [PWV (+0.55, +0.60, and +1.09 m/s for groups 2-4, P < .001 for all)], but not in men. Among COVID-19 positive women, persistent symptoms were associated with higher PWV, regardless of disease severity and cardiovascular confounders [adjusted PWV 7.52 (95% CI 7.09; 7.96) vs. 7.13 (95% CI 6.67; 7.59) m/s, P < .001]. A stable or improved PWV after 12 months was found in the COVID+ groups, whereas a progression was observed in the COVID- group.</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 is associated with early vascular ageing in the long term, especially in women.</p>}},
author = {{Bruno, Rosa Maria and Badhwar, Smriti and Abid, Leila and Agharazii, Mohsen and Anastasio, Fabio and Bellien, Jeremy and Burghuber, Otto and Faconti, Luca and Filipovsky, Jan and Ghiadoni, Lorenzo and Giannattasio, Cristina and Hametner, Bernhard and Hughes, Alun D and Jeroncic, Ana and Ikonomidis, Ignatios and Lonnebakken, Mai Tone and Maloberti, Alessandro and Mayer, Christopher C and Muiesan, Maria Lorenza and Paini, Anna and Panayiotou, Andrie and Park, Chloe and Rajkumar, Chakravarthi and Becerra, Carlos Ramos and Spronck, Bart and Terentes-Printzios, Dimitrios and Tuncok, Yesim and Weber, Thomas and Boutouyrie, Pierre}},
issn = {{1522-9645}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{European Heart Journal}},
title = {{Accelerated vascular ageing after COVID-19 infection : the CARTESIAN study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430}},
doi = {{10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430}},
year = {{2025}},
}