An ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain and is the most common type of stroke.
In a study from Hospital Egas Moniz in Lisbon, scientists found people with a COVID-19 infection who have an ischemic stroke may be more likely to have bleeding in their brain and worse outcomes during stroke treatments to restore blood flow than people without COVID-19.
While scientists know that COVID-19 may affect a person’s health in many ways, not much is known about the safety and effectiveness of treatments to restore blood flow for those who have had an ischemic stroke.
In the study, the team examined 15,128 people with an average age of 72 from 30 countries across five continents who had an ischemic stroke. All had treatments to restore blood flow.
Of the total, 5,848 people, or 39%, received intravenous thrombolysis treatments, which are injections of clot-busting drugs, only.
The other 9,280 people, or 61%, received endovascular treatments, which can include using a stent to remove a clot or both methods. Of the total participants, 853, or 6%, had COVID-19.
The researchers looked at how often people had two types of complications: intracerebral hemorrhage, which is a type of bleeding within the brain; and subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is bleeding between the brain and the membrane that covers it.
When comparing people with COVID-19 to those without, 9% had intracerebral hemorrhage compared to 5%, 4% had subarachnoid hemorrhage compared to 2%, and 10% had both complications compared to 6%.
The researchers found that people with COVID-19 had a 53% higher risk of intracerebral hemorrhage compared to people without COVID-19.
Those who had COVID-19 also had an 80% higher risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage compared to those without COVID-19.
When looking at both complications combined, people with COVID-19 had a 56% higher risk compared with people without COVID-19.
The team also found that those with COVID-19 were more than twice as likely to die within 24 hours after stroke treatment compared to people without COVID-19. They were also 88% more likely to die within three months.
The researchers believe treatments to restore blood flow remain beneficial to people with ischemic stroke and COVID-19 and suggest they continue to be given as quickly as possible using current treatment recommendations.
The new findings can be taken into consideration for treatment decisions and monitoring people after stroke.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about how vitamin B may help fight COVID-19, and new therapy from bananas may help treat COVID-19.
For more information about stroke, please see recent studies about how the Mediterranean diet could protect your brain health, and tea and coffee could help lower your risk of stroke and dementia.
The study was conducted by João Pedro Marto et al and published in Neurology.
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