COVID-19 infection is associated with a measurable acceleration of vascular aging, according to a multicentre study of roughly 2,400 adults published in the European Heart Journal. Researchers from Université Paris Cité and collaborators in up to 18 countries found that participants who had contracted the virus— including those who were never hospitalised—showed stiffer arteries six months after infection than peers who had not been infected. The effect was strongest among women. Average carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity rose by 0.55 metres per second in women with mild illness, 0.60 m/s in those hospitalised on general wards, and 1.09 m/s for women treated in intensive care—changes the authors say correspond to roughly five years of vascular aging and a higher long-term risk of heart attack or stroke. Follow-up at one year indicated that some of the arterial stiffening had begun to reverse, and vaccinated participants recorded smaller increases in pulse-wave velocity than their unvaccinated peers. The investigators plan continued monitoring to determine whether the observed changes translate into higher cardiovascular event rates.