Beware! Young Covid Patients With Hypertension, Diabetes Are At A Higher Risk Of Stroke – TheHealthSite

With neurological cases surging in post-covid patients, a new study has found that Covid patients suffering from hypertension or diabetes are at a higher risk of getting a stroke.

Written by Arushi Bidhuri | Published : July 28, 2021 4:37 PM IST

The deadly Covid-19 doesn't stop after infecting the system, it proliferates and leads to several complications in these patients. Studies suggest eight in ten patients hospitalized with Covid-19 develop neurological complications. While SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid, can lead to many complications on its own, what makes it worse is having an underlying disease. Older people and those with comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension are at a higher risk of developing complications induced by the coronavirus. A new recent study has suggested that Covid patients suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes are at a higher risk of stroke.

According to a study published in the journal Brain Communications, strokes were a common consequence among hospitalised adults with severe Covid-19, with younger patients having higher rates than expected. After analysing 267 Covid patients, they found that the risk of getting a brain stroke further increased in patients who had diabetes and high blood pressure.

Strokes were the most commonly reported ailment among the 267 instances, impacting nearly half of the patients. Over a quarter of strokes occurred among people under the age of 60, many of whom had modifiable risk factors that put them at risk of a stroke in the first place. Delirium, psychiatric events and other evidence of damage to the brain were among the other common neurological conditions found in these patients.

Dr Amy Ross-Russell, a research fellow at the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said, "It was striking not only how many different neurological and psychiatric events we observed in this study, but also that some of these conditions occurred together within the same patients. This suggests Covid can affect multiple parts of the nervous system in the same patient." She further stated that patients who suffered strokes also had blood channel obstructions or thrombosis in other parts of the body, which is vital to understand why some strokes occur during Covid-19.

Several reports have suggested that there has been a "troubling rise" in the number of neurological issues among people who have recovered from the coronavirus disease. In a report released last week, experts stated that the pandemic has resulted in not only acute inflammatory disease but also long-term neurological conditions. The neurological issues reported in these patients included encephalopathy, coma and stroke.

There have been reports that Guillain-barre syndrome is another neurological condition affecting Covid patients. In this condition, the body's immune system attacks the nerves of the brain and the spinal cord. It is crucial to look out for symptoms to avoid the onset of severe complications such as these.

The findings imply that Covid-19 increases the risk of stroke in persons of all ages, including children. Public health measures such as avoiding the risk of severe Covid-19 through vaccination and other public health measures, as well as lifestyle changes to avoid diabetes and high blood pressure, good blood sugar and blood pressure control, and avoiding the risk of severe Covid-19 through vaccination and other public health measures, could help to reduce this.

(with inputs from agencies)

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Beware! Young Covid Patients With Hypertension, Diabetes Are At A Higher Risk Of Stroke - TheHealthSite