Stroke patients suffering from Covid may be much less likely to recover, according to a new US study.
The team at the Thomas Jefferson University in the United States studied two groups of stroke patients from across Europe and North America.
The researchers looked at both people infected and uninfected with Covid and found that the Covid-19 group had higher mortality rates, despite being younger and having fewer cerebrovascular risk factors.
The report showed that people who had Covid were more than 2.5 times more likely to have an unfavourable outcome and face a difficult recovery post-stroke.
The study, led by Pascal Jabbour, professor of neurological surgery at Thomas Jefferson University, reviewed data for 575 patients with acute large vessel occlusion – 194 who had Covid and 381 who did not.
The team analysed which patients had a successful revascularisation – a procedure that restores blood flow in blocked arteries or veins – and left the hospital with little to no disabilities. They found that, even though the patients with Covid were younger and had fewer risk factors, they were less likely to be treated successfully.
“There is still so much we need to learn about Covid-19, especially its impact on younger patients,” professor Jabbour told the Independent. “Stroke’s impact on individuals with Covid-19 is alarming and one we must continue to research and remedy.”
Mortality rates were higher by more than two-fold in the group who had the virus compared with the control group.
Although the patients were younger, healthier and had mild symptoms of the virus, the researchers concluded that Covid was a predictor of poorer outcomes.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, there has been an increase in strokes among young and middle-aged people who have contracted the virus. The data is limited, but analyses suggest that coronavirus patients are likely to experience the deadliest type of stroke.
However, Korean scientists have previously reported a reduction in heart attacks and strokes among fully vaccinated people, with cardiovascular events significantly reduced in the 31 to 120 days after Covid infection for the fully vaccinated compared with the unvaccinated.
