A global study, led by an Edinburgh-based neurologist, gets underway today to examine tens of thousands of patient records in the hope of understanding the link between covid-19 and strokes – and trying to reduce their toll.

The study, thought to be the largest of its kind ever, will look at health data from across the UK to compare patients who tested positive for covid-19 with patients without the virus, to see if covid increases the risk of stroke and, if so, by how much.

Researchers will also examine the age, sex, ethnicity and geography of patients to try to establish the risk factors for having a stroke amongst people who contract covid- 19.

The study is being funded by the Stroke Association. The charity’s research director, Dr Rubina Ahmed, says covid-19 appears to be adding to the toll of people having strokes:

“Stroke already strikes every five minutes and we’re extremely concerned that covid-19 may lead to more strokes, destroying more lives.

“Equally concerning are reports that stroke patients who have covid-19 may be younger, and experience more severe effects of stroke, including death.

“Severe illness due to covid-19 is a challenge enough– but it’s worrying that a deadly stroke might also be on the way. This new research can help guide the development of new treatments that can prevent life-threatening strokes.”

Lead researcher Dr William Whiteley, a reader in neurology at the University of Edinburgh, says the key is to examine as much data as possible:

“So far studies of covid and stroke have been small. More data will improve our understanding and give a better idea of the risks of stroke after covid-19 infection.

“With the funding of the Stroke Association and access to the data and research community brought together by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre, the team can use health information from nearly all adults in the UK.

“By working with information specialists, we’ll be able to accurately detect even the smallest increase in risk of stroke across different groups of people.

“We’re incredibly grateful to have the support of charities to help get this urgent research underway, so that we can better inform patients and healthcare professionals about covid-19 and risk of stroke.”

The study is part of the wider CVD-COVID-UK flagship project consortium, led by the BHF Data Science Centre, which is trying to understand the relationship between covid-19 and cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and stroke, across the UK population.

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