Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 17, 2025 21 hours, 48 minutes ago
Medical News: Stroke and Long COVID Connection
A new study from researchers at Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Timisoara, Romania, has revealed that patients suffering from Long COVID may face unusual risks when they arrive at emergency departments with stroke symptoms. The research team compared 132 stroke patients—26 with Long COVID and 106 without—to better understand differences in how the condition influences stroke onset, treatment, and short-term outcomes. In the middle of this
Medical News report, it becomes clear that although the overall outcomes were similar, specific warning signs appeared far more often in those with Long COVID.
Long COVID Linked to Alarming Stroke Symptoms in ER Patients
Distinct Symptoms Stand Out
The study discovered that stroke patients with Long COVID were nearly four times more likely to report severe headaches compared to those without the condition. Additionally, they were almost three times more likely to present with facial drooping, a classic red flag for stroke. Interestingly, smoking was far less common in the Long COVID group, with only 3.8 percent being smokers compared to 22.6 percent among those without Long COVID. This surprising contrast hints at a complex relationship between lifestyle, prior infection, and vascular health.
Emergency Care and Treatment Patterns
When doctors examined emergency department time targets such as door-to-physician and door-to-CT scan times, no major differences were observed between the two groups. Both Long COVID and non-Long COVID patients received care within similar timeframes, suggesting that hospitals responded equally fast regardless of patient background. However, a higher percentage of Long COVID patients required mechanical thrombectomy—a procedure to remove blood clots—though the difference was not statistically significant. Alarmingly, these patients also showed a higher rate of hemorrhagic transformation, a dangerous complication where blocked vessels rupture after treatment.
Subtle but Concerning Trends
While the study did not find statistically significant differences in survival or length of hospital stay, the patterns suggest that Long COVID might be subtly reshaping how strokes appear and progress. The higher frequency of headaches and facial drooping among Long COVID patients may be linked to lingering inflammation, blood vessel dysfunction, or abnormal clotting patterns triggered by the virus. These findings highlight the need for medical teams to be especially alert when stroke patients with a history of COVID-19 arrive in emergency rooms.
Conclusion
The Romanian researchers emphasize that Long COVID does not drastically change emergency stroke timelines or short-term recovery rates, but it does appear to alter the way strokes manifest. Patients with Long COVID showed unique neurological warning signs and a trend toward more invasive interventions and complications. The study warns that these subtle changes could have long-term consequences for how
doctors diagnose and treat stroke in post-COVID patients. More extensive research across multiple centers will be critical to confirm these findings and guide future care strategies.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed Journal of Clinical Medicine
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/14/18/6514
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-stroke-patients-face-higher-risk-of-sudden-brain-decline
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