Coronavirus Update: Sudden Stroke Identified As Risk Among Young Adults With Mild To No COVID-19 Symptoms

The coronavirus infection seems to trigger a sudden stroke in patients in their 30s and 40s. The incidence of stroke has been increasingly noticed in young adults who are not otherwise severely ill and have mild to no coronavirus symptoms.

The medical fraternity noted that the increased incidence of stroke could be because of speculation supported by growing evidence that coronavirus infection may lead to unnatural blood clotting.

The small blood clots may find their way up into the brain through the arteries and block the flow of blood to certain areas of the brain, leading to a stoke.

COVID-19 patients with mild to know symptoms may no necessarily be hospitalized because they can easily remain quarantined at home. This makes the situation even more dangerous because if a young adult suffers from stroke-like symptoms, he or she is not willing to call 911 and report it because the hospitals are already overwhelmed with severely-ill coronavirus patients.

Dr. Thomas Oxley and his colleagues at Mount Sinai Health System in New York treated five such patients who had mild to know COVID-19 symptoms.

“Our report shows a seven-fold increase in incidence of sudden stroke in young patients during the past two weeks. Most of these patients have no past medical history and were at home with either mild symptoms (or in two cases, no symptoms) of Covid,” Oxyley said.

All of the patients showed symptoms of stoke. While all five of them tested positive, two of them delayed calling 911 for help. It is uncommon you young adults to be suffering from stroke, especially due to blockage in the large blood vessels in the brain.

Stroke that affects the large blood vessels can potentially cause severe damage and may even prove lethal if left untreated. Such patients usually require intensive care in a stroke unit or stay in rehabilitation facilities.

Until now, people in the U.S. have only been calling 911 if they show coronavirus infection symptoms such as shortness of breath or persistent high fever.

People, especially young adults, who report stroke symptoms such as speech difficulty, drooping eyelids and face, arm weakness or difficulty walking should dial 911 right away to seek urgent medical attention, irrespective of whether they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as yet or not.