Research Suggests COVID-19 Is Leading To Blood Clots In Patients: Report

What you must know about COVID-19 blood clots: Experts claim that there have been increasing evidence that COVID-19 is causing blood clots in veins and arteries of patients. If not treated on time, these blood clots can reportedly lead to loss of limb or cause grievous consequences for a patient.

COVID-19 is mostly known for being a disease that affects the respiratory system, but recent reports have highlighted a variety of non-lung-based health complications like blood clotting, neurological, and metabolic problems, including other issues in organs like kidney and heart that patients are suffering from. In addition to this, a rise in cases of Black Fungus has also been reported among patients in Delhi. Read more on that here.

COVID-19 blood clots

Cases of blood clots have been seen in people who were suffering from a mild version of the disease as per a report by Forbes,  thus also linking it to a higher number of strokes and heart attacks in these patients.

According to other studies, the prevalence of blood clot formation which is also known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the patients of COVID-19 who are hospitalised is 18 to 28 percent. While the prevalence of arterial thrombosis (blood clotting in arteries) is lower than two to five percent.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a serious condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein located deep inside the body, arterial thrombosis is a clot that develops in the arteries. Arteries are those blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart and other organs, while veins carry blood that is low in oxygen from all over the body back to the heart.

Similar experiences have been observed in India, and experts have said that COVID-19 has the potential to affect our blood vessels just as much as the lungs.

Dr Ambarish Satwik, a vascular surgeon who works at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital tweeted an image of a blood clot that had been extracted from a COVID-19 patient on May 5. "What Covid clots look like. Covid produces blood clots. The incidence of heart attack, stroke, or limb loss due to an arterial clot in Covid varies from 2%-5%. We pried these out of the lower limb arteries of a Covid patient. We were able to save the limb.," read his tweet.

What Covid clots look like. Covid produces blood clots. The incidence of heart attack, stroke, or limb loss due to an arterial clot in Covid varies from 2%-5%. We pried these out of the lower limb arteries of a Covid patient. We were able to save the limb. pic.twitter.com/TrKhVJmFdF

— Ambarish Satwik (@AmbarishSatwik) May 5, 2021

The blood clots observed in the patients of COVID-19 are in high prevalence with the patients who also suffer from type-2 Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus).

Previous studies on the subject

A study on Macrothrombosis and stroke in patients with mild COVID‐19 infection published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis in May 2020 stated that cases of patients have been seen in New York which shows the occurrence of stroke, and secondary to large vessel thrombosis without a blockage of blood vessels and organs. These patients were incidentally found to have only mild respiratory symptoms of COVID-19.

The study also said that the neurological implications of this are poorly understood and need further urgent studies.

Another study about COVID-19 and Thrombotic or Thromboembolic Disease published in June last year said that COVID-19 may predispose patients of the disease to thrombotic disease in both venous, and arterial circulations. The cause of this was stated as "platelet activation, excessive inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and stasis."

Image Credit: STAT