Among the many hard lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic is that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infections, can affect every organ system in the body, including the brain.
Approximately one-third of all patients with COVID-19 may develop neurological complications from infection, and many patients present to hospitals with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or “brain attack,” caused by the sudden blockage of blood flow to or within the brain.
In a new study from Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers found patients with COVID-19 who experience AIS appears to be at higher risk for severe disability and death compared with stroke patients treated in the pre-COVID era.
They looked at records of 230 patients with AIS who were seen at the stroke centers during the first wave of the pandemic, from mid-March through the end of August 2020.
The team found a little more than half (51%) of all patients had poor outcomes, with 39.1% dying either in the hospital or within 30 days of being discharged.
In contrast, before the pandemic, death rates was 27.6% among all patients with ischemic strokes, and 11.6% among patients with strokes caused by blockage of one or more large blood vessels that supply blood to much of the brain.
This study revealed how great the mortality was from COVID-associated stroke during the first wave, how high the rates of disability were for many patients, and that these mortality rates and disabilities were greater than those experienced in the first wave in other countries.
The data suggest that patients from less affluent areas may have been at greater risk for serious complications such as stroke because of their inability to carry out protective measures such as social distancing or working at home.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about small surgery that can prevent strokes in people with heart issues, and this healthy habit can lower risks of stroke and heart rhythm problems.
For more information about Omicron, please see recent studies that current COVID-19 vaccines cannot effectively prevent omicron infection, and results showing that Omicron can be neutralized by a booster dose.
The study is published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry and was conducted by Adam A. Dmytriw et al.
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