Coronavirus can have a negative effect on the brain. Such an assumption was made by a group of doctors in a New York hospital. They drew attention to an unusual correlation between COVID-19 infection and strokes, NBC News reports.
When coronavirus-infected patients with pulmonary insufficiency began to fill in intensive care units in New York in March, doctors at Mount Sinai noticed another alarming increase. – strokes.
Joanna Fifi, Hospital Neurosurgeon MountSinai: We saw an unprecedented increase in the number of patients with stroke of large vessels who entered the health care system.
45 strokes in four weeks, which, according to neurosurgeon Joanna Fifi, is almost three times higher than normal. Half of the patients were infected with COVID-19 and were 12 years younger than typical stroke victims.
STEPHANIE GOSK, correspondent NbcNews: How much did this surprise you?
Joanna Fifi: We were very surprised. Everyone in our team drew attention to this and suggested that there must be a definite correlation between COVID-19 and stroke.
This destructive virus continues to surround many issues. Among them, what exactly does he do with the brain? A limited study of 214 patients with COVID-19 in China showed that more than a third had neurological symptoms. The most common were loss of taste and smell, dizziness, headaches and even loss of consciousness, and in rare cases – strokes.
NICOLE HUTCHERSON, NURSE: Obviously, I cannot convey in words what a wonderful person my father was.
Nurse Nicole Hutcherson says she felt anxious during a visit to her 82-year-old normally physically active father. It seemed that he was under the influence of sedatives.
NICOLE HUTCHERSON: He looked lost, as if he were not with us. His gaze was empty.
A few days after his death, he was diagnosed with COVID-19. It is unclear whether he had a stroke. Now his brain has become part of a study designed to establish what neurological damage the virus causes.
NICOLE HUTCHERSON: He would like to help anyone who needs help.
Mount Sinai began dispensing blood thinners to some virus-infected patients to prevent a stroke.
Joanna Fifi: We have a 33-year-old patient who previously had health problems. And she felt weakness in her hands and numbness. And in this condition, she was at home for more than one day before calling 911. Due to the fact that she was slow, she was waiting for long-term complications.
The young woman did not want to catch the virus at the emergency room. She did not realize that she was already infected.
Stephanie Gosk, NBC, New York.
Air Date: April 16, 2020.
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