tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cureus
. 2022 Mar 30;14(3):e23654.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.23654. eCollection 2022 Mar.
Ischemic Stroke in a SARS-CoV-2-Positive Octagenarian Without Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Case Report
Josef Finsterer[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes are increasingly recognized as complications of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. The absence of cardiovascular risk factors in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients who suffer a stroke supports a causal relationship as shown in the following report. The patient is an 86-year-old female who developed a mild, brachio-facial, right-sided hemi-symptomatic during a mild infection with SARS-CoV-2. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) showed a corresponding, small, subacute, ischemic lesion in the left periventricular white matter and a microbleed in the left thalamus. Under dual platelet aggregation inhibitor therapy, the neurological deficits regressed almost completely within three weeks. If one considers that classic cardiovascular risk factors were missing, a causal link between the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the stroke becomes likely. Vasculopathy, coagulopathy, and cardiac disease caused by the virus or the immune response against it serve as pathophysiological explanations for the cerebral lesions. It is concluded that ischemic stroke can occur during infection with SARS-CoV-2. There are more arguments for than against a causal relationship between the viral infection and ischemic stroke.
Keywords: bleeding; central nervous system; covid-19; sars-cov-2; stroke.
. 2022 Mar 30;14(3):e23654.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.23654. eCollection 2022 Mar.
Ischemic Stroke in a SARS-CoV-2-Positive Octagenarian Without Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Case Report
Josef Finsterer[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35505709
- PMCID: PMC9053647
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.23654
Abstract
Ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes are increasingly recognized as complications of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. The absence of cardiovascular risk factors in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients who suffer a stroke supports a causal relationship as shown in the following report. The patient is an 86-year-old female who developed a mild, brachio-facial, right-sided hemi-symptomatic during a mild infection with SARS-CoV-2. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) showed a corresponding, small, subacute, ischemic lesion in the left periventricular white matter and a microbleed in the left thalamus. Under dual platelet aggregation inhibitor therapy, the neurological deficits regressed almost completely within three weeks. If one considers that classic cardiovascular risk factors were missing, a causal link between the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the stroke becomes likely. Vasculopathy, coagulopathy, and cardiac disease caused by the virus or the immune response against it serve as pathophysiological explanations for the cerebral lesions. It is concluded that ischemic stroke can occur during infection with SARS-CoV-2. There are more arguments for than against a causal relationship between the viral infection and ischemic stroke.
Keywords: bleeding; central nervous system; covid-19; sars-cov-2; stroke.