Covid-19 & Increased Stroke Risk

The long term implications of Covid-19: Stroke Risk

The exact impact of Covid-19 on the long term health of those who were infected and survived, is at yet unknown. There are many potential health and medical implications, many of which may not surface for many years.

However, a year into the pandemic, and there is a growing body of research to suggest that stroke risk is on the increase, in a year in which thousands, if not millions of people around the world have been infected with Covid-19. Continued research seeks to understand if this increased risk is a direct result of Covid-19 infections, or simply related to a condition that is known to weaken the heart and other key body systems.

A recent study by Belani et al. (2020), involving six hospitals and 123 patients found (even when variable and influencing factors, such as age, sex and major vascular risk factors were taken into consideration) that Covid-19 was a direct risk for stroke in patients with the disease. 

The study found the following:

-Covid-19 infection put a patient at risk of acute ischemic stroke.

-There was a significantly greater risk of acute ischemic stroke in patients who had been infected with Covid-19 than those who hadn’t.

-That those with a severe case of Covid-19 were three times more at risk from cardiovascular disease than those with only a mild to moderate case.

The long term care of Covid-19 patients is going to require a great deal of investment, and further research. It may also mean increased demand for stroke therapies and rehabilitative technologies. 

The Just Walk, by Salute, post stroke rehabilitation walking device, utilizes neuromotion therapy technologies, to provide intuitive, effective and user friendly rehabilitation support, either in a clinic or at home.