Having suffered a stroke triples the risk of dying after overcoming COVID-19

Being under 60 years old and having suffered some type of stroke increases the risk of dying after suffering COVID-19 three times, according to a study by the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona (Spain) that has analyzed data from more than 91,000 patients diagnosed with coronavirus until July of last year.

According to the study, published in the magazine ‘Stroke‘, in the case of people between 60 and 80 years, this risk remains 1.3 times higher than people of the same age group who have not suffered a stroke.

This is the first population study done in Spain on the relationship between mortality after suffering covid-19 and having suffered a stroke, and one of the few made so far in the world.

The work, carried out by researchers from the Neurology Service of Hospital del Mar and the Neurovascular Research Group of the Hospital del Mar Institute for Medical Research (IMIM), has analyzed data from all people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Catalonia between February 1 and July 1, 2020.

In total, 91,629 people, of which 5,752, 6.27%, had suffered a stroke before infection.

Of these, 30% died after suffering COVID-19, compared to 9% in the group of patients who had not suffered a stroke before contracting the disease.

All the people analyzed were followed up until the end of 2020.

”Everything indicates that the fact that mortality increases after covid-19 in this group is because they suffer a greater degree of disability derived from stroke, that is, they have, among others, mobility problems with which, in case of an infection, it is more likely that it is more serious at the respiratory level, since they have more problems to ventilate or swallow “, has explained Elisa Square, associate physician of Neurology and researcher of the IMIM.

“It is the disability secondary to the stroke that we believe makes them have a higher risk of suffering an infection by COVID-19 more serious and dying after suffering it or having more complications derived from the infection “, according to Square.

The study concludes that, contrary to what could be expected, the risk is higher in the youngest people who have suffered a stroke, those under 60 years of age, although it is also high in the group between 60 and 70 years , and it is not significant in those over 80, while no differences have been found between men and women.

At the same time, the risk is higher if you have previously suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, a type of stroke that causes more sequelae.

In this group, the risk rises five times more among the youngest people, and remains twice as high in those between 70 and 80 years old.

In the case of those who have suffered a ischemic stroke, the risk is three times higher if they are under 60 years old, and 1.3 times higher among people who are between 70 and 80 years old.

Regarding patients who have suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, the risk is five times higher among the youngest, as it is a more common type of stroke in people of this age bracket.

In cases of stroke transient, milder and may cause fewer sequelae, no increased risk of mortality has been detected.

The researchers were also able to determine that the time elapsed between the moment of having the stroke and the infection by COVID-19 influences this risk: it is higher in more recent cases.

With the results of the study, the researchers defend that the group that has suffered some type of stroke and is less than 60 years old must be prioritized in vaccination policies against it. COVID-19.