COVID- 19 (coronavirus) impacts heart & brain

Stroke incidences are in rise at this time of the year. The rise is due to onset of winters and air pollution.

This particular year has seen the pandemic of COVID- 19. Which is primarily a respiratory disease but has its own independent influence on stroke and cardiovascular diseases. COVID-19 (coronavirus) impacts heart & brain.

Prevalence:

A review by WHO reports that the risk of ischemic stroke during COVID-19 is around 5%. Even cases of hemorrhagic stroke related to COVID-19 have been reported but they are less than those of ischemic strokes.

How COVID- 19 affects heart & brain:

Specific mechanism by which COVID-19 increases the risk of stroke could be

hypercoagulable state

vasculitis

and cardiomyopathy

In COVID-19 a marker called “D-dimer” is increased which makes the blood thicker and increases the risk of blockage.

Involvement of heart  in COVID- 19 increases the risk of stroke. Keeping this in view, it is advised that the COVID-19 patients as well as treating physicians should be extra vigilant.

In cases where heart is involved and “D-dimer” is raised, extra care should be taken not to miss any single sign of stroke.

Be Aware:

People should be aware of common symptoms of stroke such as

headache 

slurring of speech

weakness in any part of body

involvement of vision or any episodes of blackout

No such symptom should be ignored thinking to be part of generalized weakness.

In stroke cases timely diagnosis and treatment is critical. If a patient of stroke reaches a neurological facility in early few hours, treatment like thrombolysis can reverse  the brain damage and can result in complete cure.

Author Dr. Kamal Verma is a Neurosurgeon. He is the director of neurosurgery and spine surgery department at Sarvodaya Hospital Faridabad Delhi/NCR.

for query write to drkamalverma@gmail.com