Doctors see rise in younger COVID-19 patients having strokes

ORLANDO, Fla. — Doctors at AdventHealth said they are seeing younger people with COVID-19 having strokes.

They said this is having a potentially devastating impact on COVID-19 patients.

Common symptoms of moderate to severe COVID-19 include inflammation, poor organ function and development of blood clots.

Read: Coronavirus: Half of U.S. adults fully vaccinated, CDC data shows

Those clots can lead to heart attack and stroke.

Doctors are now studying the links between COVID-19 and stroke after they found people under the age of 50 with no risk factors were having strokes.

One woman said she found out later she had a stroke, while her husband had a heart attack and did not know until after it was over.

Anita Notte and her husband got COVID-19 in September.

“It felt like my body was poisoned, and I still feel it sometimes,” Notte said.

Read: Coronavirus: New COVID-19 cases fall to lowest levels since last June

She is still dealing with symptoms and has started to have tingling in her body.

It wasn’t until after an MRI that she found out what had happened.

“I went to a neurologist and he said, ‘you had a stroke,’” she said.

The inflammation and infection from the virus can make the body more prone to blood clots that can cause a stroke.

Doctors are seeing what is called “acute ischemic stroke.”

Read: Coronavirus: Moderna says its vaccine is effective in people 12 to 17 years old

Strokes under the age of 50 with COVID-19 usually occur in people who have health issues including high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension.

Doctors said over the last 14 months, they have been seeing more patients with no risk factors who have had strokes.

Not only are patients recovering from the strokes, but also injuries to the lungs, heart and other organs that may have been affected.

Doctors said the strokes they are seeing are not connected to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The drugmaker’s one-shot vaccine was put on hold while health officials reviewed six cases. The Food and Drug Administration determined that the vaccine is safe.

The strokes they are seeing are in people who were not vaccinated.

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