Healthy young adults who had COVID-19 may have long-term impact on blood vessels and heart health

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/tps-hya050621.php

 

News Release 6-May-2021
The Physiological Society

 

New research published in Experimental Physiology highlight the possible long term health impacts of COVID-19 on young, relatively healthy adults who were not hospitalized and who only had minor symptoms due to the virus.

Increased stiffness of arteries in particular was found in young adults, which may impact heart health, and can also be important for other populations who may have had severe cases of the virus. This means that young, healthy adults with mild COVID-19 symptoms may increase their risk of cardiovascular complications which may continue for some time after COVID-19 infection.

While SARS-CoV-2, the virus known for causing the COIVD-19 pandemic, is mainly characterized by respiratory symptoms, other studies have recently shown changes to blood vessel function among young adults 3-4 weeks after being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (Ratchford et al., 2021).

This has also been observed months after infection in older adults as well (Riou et al. J Clin Med. 2021).

The research team at Appalachian State University found that the virus may have detrimental effects to arteries throughout the body, including in the carotid artery which supplies the brain with blood.


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