Acute cerebrovascular accidents in patients with new coronavirus infection COVID-19

Abstract

The incidence of neurological complications in COVID-19 can reach 8–10% of all cases of new coronavirus infection; acute cerebrovascular accidents (ACA) dominate in their structure, which cause significant social and economic costs due to the high mortality and disability rates in this group of patients. The main pathophysiological mechanism leading to the development of ischemic cerebrovascular accidents (ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack) is the phenomenon of hypercoagulation, which, together with the systemic inflammatory response to the viral infection, leads to the formation of macro- and microthrombi and the development of ischemic disorders of cerebral circulation. The ischemic stroke associated with COVID-19 is characterized by the onset at a younger age, the predominance of cryptogenic and cardioembolic pathogenetic variants, a more frequent occlusion of large cerebral vessels and thus a more pronounced clinical picture of the disease. The reserves for reducing mortality and disability in patients with cerebrovascular disease, especially stroke, during the spread of COVID-19 lie both in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of COVID-19 in patients at high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and in ensuring specialized medical care for this category of patients.