Covid-19 increases stroke risk among young, healthy patients.

ISLAMABAD -- Covid-19 infection raises the risk of stroke, often among younger and healthier patients, who are then likely to face worse outcomes, according to a study.

People with Covid are over 2.5 times more likely to have an unfavourable outcome and face a difficult recovery post-stroke.

Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University in the US found that the patients with Covid, who were younger and had less risk factors, were less likely to achieve successful revascularisation -- a procedure aimed to restore blood flow into blocked arteries or veins, Medical Daily reported .

Moreover, thrombectomy -- a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter to reopen blocked arteries in the brain -- was prolonged in the Covid group, as was the length of hospital stay.

Most alarming, mortality rates were higher by more than two-fold in the Covid group compared to the control.

Overall, Covid was a predictor of poorer outcomes, even though many of the patients were younger, healthier and even had mild symptoms of the virus before the onset of stroke, the researchers said.

"There is still so much we need to learn about Covid, especially its impact on younger patients," said lead author Pascal Jabbour, Professor of neurological surgery at the university.

"Stroke's impact on individuals with Covid-19 is alarming and one...