Research conducted recently has discovered that individuals who are hospitalized with coronavirus infections have an increased risk of stroke in comparison with individuals who have similar infectious illnesses such as sepsis and influenza from previous studies.

The study found that patients who suffered from ischemic stroke were more likely to suffer from atrial fibrillations, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, as well as come from the Black race, be male and be older. This was in comparison with other coronavirus patients. These findings were presented at this year’s American Stroke Association conference.

For their evaluation, the researchers analyzed data obtained from the COVID-19 CVD registry from the American Heart Association to explore the risk of stroke in patients who had been hospitalized for coronavirus infections, their demographics characteristics and medical histories. The data that was used in this study was gathered from more than 20,000 individuals who had been hospitalized with coronavirus last year across the United States from January to November.

University of Washington cardiology fellow Saate Shakil, who was also the lead author of the study, stated that the findings suggested that the coronavirus may increase the risk of stroke. The researchers found that during hospitalization, 281 people in the registry suffered a stroke, which had been confirmed via diagnostic imaging. Of this group, 7 individuals experienced a transient ischemic attack, 127 patients experienced unspecified types of stroke or bleeding stroke, and 148 individuals experienced an ischemic stroke.

The researchers’ investigation also led to the following discoveries:

• As compared to deaths of patients who had not suffered strokes, in-hospital deaths were twice as high among stroke patients.
• Patients who had suffered strokes spent more than three weeks hospitalized while those who did not suffer strokes spent a little more than a week hospitalized.
• Approximately 9% of patients who had no strokes suffered from atrial fibrillation while 18% of patients who suffered ischemic strokes had atrial fibrillation.
• While only 58% of patients without stroke suffered from high blood pressure, 80% of ischemic stroke patients also suffered from high blood pressure.
• The researchers found that nearly a third of patients who did not have strokes had diabetes while 44% of ischemic stroke patients had type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, the researchers discovered that individuals who suffered any type of stroke were more likely to be older, with the average age being 65 and more likely to be males. The researchers also found that the risk of stroke varied by race, with Black patients making up 27% of the patients in the Cardiovascular Disease Registry pool.

Shakil explained that the team’s research suggested that African Americans had an increased risk of ischemic stroke after being infected with the coronavirus and noted that it was important that the coronavirus spread be contained through widespread distribution of vaccines and public health interventions.

COVID-19 and stroke aren’t the only health challenges the world is grappling with. Other conditions, such as chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis, are also of concern. To find a remedy, AzurRx BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: AZRX) is conducting clinical trials of its drug candidate MS1819; topline data from these studies is expected this year.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to AzurRx BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: AZRX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/AZRX

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