COVID-19 in people with cerebrovascular disease

To determine whether a history of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) increases risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a retrospective multicenter study has been conducted from COVID-19 registries of three hospitals in Saxony, Germany.

Pooled analysis included data from 1906 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients (43.9% females, median age ranging from 39 to 76 years). Patients with previous CVD had higher risk of severe COVID-19 than those without [RR 2.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.52-2.81; p < 0.0001]. This association was also observed in clusters of studies that defined severe manifestation of the disease by clinical parameters (RR 1.44, 95% CI 1.22-1.71; p < 0.0001), necessity of intensive care (RR 2.79, 95% CI 1.83-4.24; p < 0.0001) and in-hospital death (RR 2.18, 95% CI 1.75-2.7; p < 0.0001).

In conclusion, a history of CVD might constitute an important risk factor of unfavorable clinical course of COVID-19 suggesting a need of tailored infection prevention and clinical management strategies for this population at risk.