Coronavirus: Post-COVID there can be complications in brain, says AIIMS doctor; know about the ‘FAST’ stroke test

Post-COVID there is a risk of complications in the brain, Professor P Srivastava, Head Department of Neurology, AIIMS Delhi has said. "Post-Covid, there can be a development of complications in the brain, there are immediate acute situations like brain attack or stroke in arteries/veins, brain inflammation, research underway, no black & white picture yet," Professor Srivatsava told news agency ANI.

The effect of COVID on the brain is not unknown to us. Ever since, health experts found the non-respiratory effects of the infection, COVID is being seen under a different lens. The infection is not just limited to the respiratory tract; it affects major body organs as well. What is more serious is that there is a long term burden of COVID too. COVID does not stop after the incubation period of the coronavirus, it continues to linger in some people for weeks, months and even years later.

Brain fog is a common issue seen in many people post COVID. It makes the person unable to concentrate on even simple tasks. This includes memory loss, poor attention span and fatigue and as per health reports around 20% people who have had COVID complain of such issues even after recovering from the infection.

Other symptoms of the psychological effect of COVID on the brain are confusion, change in behaviour, moody, seizure, loss of consciousness and forgetfulness.

A major complication of the brain which has a close association with COVID and is a serious concern for health experts is stroke. As per a 2021 research study published in The Lancet, the risk of a first stroke caused by a blood clot multiplied by three to six times in the week after a COVID diagnosis. The study was done on nearly 87,000 people in Sweden from February 1, 2020 to September 14, 2020.

While the research study on this matter is still on, as also confirmed by the AIIMS Delhi doctor, health experts say that the inflammatory response due to the COVID infection thickens a person's blood. This increases the risk of blood clotting and subsequently increases the risk of stroke.

As per the UK stroke association, people with underlying health conditions like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, those with severe symptoms of COVID are more likely to develop the risk of stroke.

It is important to be well informed about the disease and its symptoms when it comes to a life threatening disease like stroke.

The symptoms associated with stroke are:

numbness or weakness in the face, arm and leg

the weakness is mostly felt on one side of the body

difficulty in vision

dizziness

loss of balance and coordination

severe headache

ask the person to smile and check if their face droops to one side

ask the person to raise the arms and check if one of the arms comes downwards

ask the person to repeat a simple sentence and see if they can say it properly

contact an emergency service and help the person get medical help

Blood clotting and thrombosis, can make people prone to complications like heart attack as there is a chance that a blood clot blocks flow of blood to the heart, transient ischemic attack (ministroke) when blood flow to the brain is temporarily stopped, critical limb ischemia when blood flow to a limb is stopped and pulmonary embolism when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood to the lungs.

Whenever there is a discussion on COVID, there should be discussions around long COVID too. In the third year of the pandemic, we all know that the long term burden of COVID is a fact and affects the majority of the population.

Several research studies have confirmed the occurrence of long COVID. A recent research study published in the Lancet journal has found that metabolic disorders like high cholesterol, weight gain and even anxiety can stem from COVID and is a part of long COVID. The study on young people found that these people who were otherwise healthy developed metabolic disorders after COVID infection.

While wearing masks and keeping hands sanitized can save you from the virus, being well informed about the disease will save you from the debilitating effects of long COVID.