‘Not just a respiratory illness’: New stroke data highlight the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 appear to face a higher stroke risk than patients who have been treated for similar infectious conditions, according to new data being presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021.
The study’s authors reviewed data from more than 20,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. All patients received care from January to November 2020. Overall, 1.4% of the cohort had an imaging-confirmed stroke during hospitalization. While 52.7% of those patients experienced ischemic stroke, 45.2% had a bleeding stroke or an unspecified type of stroke. Another 2.5% experienced a transient ischemic attack.
COVID-19 patients who had a stroke spent an average of 12 days longer in the hospital, the team added, and they were more than twice as likely to die. They were also more likely to have high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or an irregular heartbeat than other COVID-19 patients.
“These findings suggest that COVID-19 may increase the risk for stroke, though the exact mechanism for this is still unknown,” lead author Saate S. Shakil, MD, a cardiology fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a prepared statement. “As the pandemic continues, we are finding that coronavirus is not just a respiratory illness, but a vascular disease that can affect many organ systems.”
Reviewing his team’s findings, Shakil noted that “it is more important than ever that we cut the spread of COVID-19 via public health interventions and widespread vaccine distribution.”
The American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2021 is being held virtually March 17-19. Click here for more information.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.