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Science

Does COVID-19 Increase Your Risk of Stroke?

If you or someone close to you has experienced a stroke, you know that they can happen suddenly and with little warning. Understanding the risk factors is the best way to prevent strokes from ever happening. 85% of strokes are ischemic strokes, which are caused by a clog in an artery, leading to a lack of blood flow to the brain. Obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart arrhythmiasatrial fibrillation, smoking, drug abuse and many other risk factors are all linked to an increased likelihood. Now, recent studies have shown that COVID-19 may be linked to increased stroke risk as well.

Common symptoms of moderate to severe COVID-19 include inflammation, poor organ function and development of blood clots. All of these symptoms and others are common for severe COVID-19 cases and could increase your risk of venous and arterial thromboembolisms, a build-up of blood clots which can subsequently lead to heart attack and stroke.