A team of Israeli researchers have identified a link between coronavirus and stroke victims, especially in healthy young people, media reports said.

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The global study led by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem involved at least 136 medical centres in 32 countries, i24news.tv reported. Of the 380 patients who suffered a stroke while suffering from COVID-19, nearly 38 per cent were asymptomatic to the coronavirus and had no recognisable symptoms from the virus such as cough or fever. The diagnosis came only after they were admitted to the hospital for stroke.

The study, published in the journal 'Stroke', led researchers to fear that the virus may increase the risk of stroke, even in people without chronic conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes. Of the 432 patients, 323 had an acute ischemic stroke, 91 had intracranial haemorrhage, and 18 had cerebral venous or sinus thrombosis. The younger patients with ischemic strokes had no known existence of the types of aclassical risk factors that contribute to the onset of strokes such as vascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or smoking, the report said.

"This study further strengthened our understanding of the link between coronavirus and stroke in young patients", said Ronen Leker, a professor from the varsity. "In the future, we recommend performing PCR tests routinely on all young stroke patients, especially those who have had a stroke, especially in those with no known pathologies", Leker added.