Coronavirus: Those who had COVID must watch out for stroke signs

From damaging heart health to putting the brain at risk, long COVID poses a great risk to life. Once when you think that COVID is over, long COVID effects startle you.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) along with other health agencies has finally acknowledged the existence of long COVID and is worried over its effects on mankind.

Read: How has COVID affected the chances of getting pneumonia?

Of the several impacts of long COVID, the most concerning ones are those where major organs of the body, like the brain, are involved.

A study published in Neurosurgery journal found that COVID was closely associated with stroke and in those who are already infected with the COVID the stroke is more likely to be severe and it might affect the chance of revival with a surgery.

Another study by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said, people who had the virus were 50% more likely to suffer from an ischemic stroke, which strikes when a blood clot or other obstruction blocks an artery’s ability to supply blood and oxygen to the brain. "Ischemic strokes account for the majority of all strokes, and can lead to difficulty speaking, cognitive confusion, vision problems, the loss of feeling on one side of the body, permanent brain damage, paralysis and death," the researchers have explained.

Several studies have found that venous thromboembolism- a serious type of blood clot is more likely to be seen in COVID infected patients.

A big research study published in the British Medical Journal which studied 54,000 people in the UK for over 4 months found that people who had been infected with COVID were 2.7 times more likely to develop venous thromboembolism.

Venous thromboembolism is a serious health complication and is one of the major reasons for heart attack and stroke cases.

Apart from strokes, COVID affects the brain in several other ways. Complications like cognitive and memory problems, depression, anxiety and migraine headaches are also seen post COVID.

It is also associated with movement disorders, tremors and involuntary muscle contractions to epileptic seizures, hearing and vision abnormalities, and balance and coordination difficulties.

Overall, COVID-19 has contributed to more than 40 million new cases of neurological disorders worldwide, says Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in the recent paper "COVID-19 infections increase risk of long-term brain problems" published in Nature Medicine.

“We’re seeing brain problems in previously healthy individuals and those who have had mild infections,” Al Aly adds.

To some extent.

Al-Aly's previous paper, also published in Nature Medicine, found that vaccines slightly reduce — by about 20% — the risk of long-term brain problems. “It is definitely important to get vaccinated but also important to understand that they do not offer complete protection against these long-term neurologic disorders,” Al-Aly believes.

Be careful of any changes you experience in your body post COVID. Always remain updated about the symptoms associated with the diseases.

The common signs associated with stroke are:

sudden numbness in the face, arm and leg

numbness mostly on one side of the body

trouble speaking

difficulty in understanding speech

trouble seeing in either one eye or both eyes

dizziness

loss of balance

lack of coordination