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Covid-19 Effects on ARTErial StIffness and Vascular AgeiNg: CARTESIAN Study Rationale and Protocol

Artery Research volume 27, pages 59–68 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread rapidly worldwide. Although the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are dominated by respiratory symptoms, the cardiovascular system is extensively affected at multiple levels. Due to the unprecedented consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ARTERY society decided to launch the Covid-19 effects on ARTErial StIffness and vascular AgeiNg (CARTESIAN) study — the first international multicentre study into the effects of COVID-19 on non-invasive biomarkers of vascular ageing. The main study objective is to evaluate the presence of Early Vascular Ageing (EVA) 6 and 12 months after COVID-19 infection. Secondary objectives are to study the effect of COVID-19 disease severity on EVA, to investigate the role of psychosocial factors in COVID-19 induced EVA, and to investigate the potential modifying effect of comorbidities and chronic treatments. In the CARTESIAN study, a broad array of cardiovascular measurements, including carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, central blood pressure, carotid ultrasound, brachial flow-mediated dilatation, will be performed. To date, 43 centres from 21 countries have agreed to participate, with an expected study population of >2500 individuals. To our knowledge, CARTESIAN will be the first study to provide insight into the relationship between COVID-19, its severity, and early vascular ageing in a large cohort, potentially enabling future care and diagnostics to be more focused on the most vulnerable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U970 Team 7, Paris Cardiovascular Research Centre - PARCC, University Paris Descartes, AP-HP, Pharmacology Unit, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 56 Rue Leblanc, 75015, Paris, France

    Rosa Maria Bruno & Pierre Boutouyrie

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Bart Spronck

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering & Applied Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Bart Spronck

  4. Center for Health & Bioresources, Biomedical Systems, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria

    Bernhard Hametner & Christopher C. Mayer

  5. MRC unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College, London, UK

    Alun Hughes

  6. Faculty of Medicine, Lorraine University, Inserm, DCAC, Nancy, France

    Patrick Lacolley

  7. Department of Clinical & Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia-Medicina 2, ASST Spedali Civili Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Maria Lorenza Muiesan

  8. Department of Medicine, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK

    Chakravarthi Rajkumar

  9. First Cardiology Department, Athens Medical School, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece

    Dimitrios Terentes-Printzios

  10. Cardiology Department, Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen, Wels, Austria

    Thomas Weber

  11. Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Clinical Research Department, Denmark

    Tine Willum Hansen

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  1. Rosa Maria Bruno
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the ARTERY Society

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Correspondence to Rosa Maria Bruno.

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Bruno, R.M., Spronck, B., Hametner, B. et al. Covid-19 Effects on ARTErial StIffness and Vascular AgeiNg: CARTESIAN Study Rationale and Protocol. Artery Res 27, 59–68 (2021). https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.201124.001

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Artery Research

ISSN: 1876-4401

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