Thread by @jeffgilchrist

COVID-19: Increased risk of dying from infection and sudden death

This a long thread looks at several studies on death and neurovascular injury along with a whole bunch of sudden death examples of relatively young and healthy people found by @MeetJess. 🧵1/

The problem is that COVID-19 is not just a respiratory virus, it can get into many different systems and organs in your body and cause vascular damage leading to many different outcomes and severities. Image from: embopress.org/doi/full/10.15… 2/

Infected patients develop blood clots, heart inflammation, arrhythmias, and heart failure among others ( science.org/content/articl… ). 3/

A study that performed autopsies on the brains of COVID-19 patients who died shortly after infection found all patients had multifocal vascular damage in the brain which was accompanied by widespread endothelial cell activation ( academic.oup.com/brain/article/… ). H/T: @MeetJess 4/

"Antibody-mediated cytotoxicity directed against the endothelial cells is the most likely initiating event that leads to vascular leakage, platelet aggregation, neuroinflammation and neuronal injury." 5/

Another study found that hospitalized patients who survived at least a week after being discharged were more than twice as likely to die or be admitted to hospital again within months compared to the general population ( journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/a… ). H/T: @MeetJess 6/

These COVID-19 patients also had increased risk for readmission, adverse mental health and cognitive outcomes and a 5x higher risk of dying from all-cause mortality in the following 10 months. 7/

The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Singapore released this very interesting report on excess deaths over the weekend (

https://twitter.com/KarenCutter4/status/1571673955156766720

). "In a secondary analysis of persons without recent infection, no additional excess deaths were found." 8/

Non-COVID excess deaths could be explained by patients who passed away from other illnesses within 90 days of being infected with COVID-19, showing COVID-19 aggravated existing illnesses, resulting in further mortalities ( moh.gov.sg/docs/libraries… ). 9/

It is not just adults that die from COVID-19. A recent study in Japan looked at 41 children under the age of 20 who were infected and died between January and August of this year, 73% within a week after symptom onset ( mainichi.jp/english/articl… ). H/T: @KatePri14608408 10/

So much for Omicron being mild, more than half the children who died developed COVID-19 symptoms after mid-July (within the past 2 months). 11/

More than half (52%) of the children did *not* have any underlying medical conditions, and 87% of the children who were eligible for vaccines were *not* vaccinated, all of the 18 children under 5 who died were unvaccinated. 12/

"The main causes of death were 'circulatory system abnormalities' including myocarditis and arrhythmia in seven patients, or 24%, and 'central nervous system abnormalities' such as acute encephalopathy in another seven patients. Among others were multiorgan failure." 13/

Now onto the many examples of sudden death recently in the news that @MeetJess has compiled in 5 threads. With so many people becoming infected without protections in place, how many could have been from a COVID-19 infection in the past 12 months (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1567341203095420930

)? 14/

- 20-Year-Old Canadian Junior Hockey Player Collapses & Suddenly Dies During Preseason Game
- Actor Charlbi Dean dies suddenly, brother "heard there was a viral infection in her lungs"
- Dolphins VP of communications Jason Jenkins age 47
- 11-year-old boy dies suddenly

15/

- Miami businessman died after suffering a pulmonary embolism
- British soap star Ashvin Luximon has died suddenly, age 38
- M&S worker age 35 died suddenly at a store in an unexplained tragedy
- Football player Clark Yarbrough died after suddenly collapsing, age 21

16/

- Cyclist, 37, dies after going into cardiac arrest lying in bed

Studies have shown COVID-19 can cause death months after infection, such as 2.83x increased risk of death in mild COVID-19 patients younger than 65 after 12 months ( frontiersin.org/articles/10.33… ). 17/

Thread #2 on sudden death examples (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1568061541664047109

).
- Popular Leigh Miners coach who died suddenly in Italy age 54
- Founder of PACHULAH Amanda Welch died suddenly along with her unborn baby
- A Hamilton, Ont. paramedic died suddenly while riding a jet ski age 32

18/

- Tevin 'Lumba' Taylor, of Blacq Road Media Films died suddenly after falling sick only hours before
- Owen Cotty, a student at Methacton high School, was tossing the frisbee with his dad when he fell to the ground, age 16
- Father-of-two in Belfast, age 28, died suddenly

19/

- Camilo Guevara March, son of "Che" Guevara, age 60, "pulmonary thrombosis which led to a heart attack."
- Sudden death due to acute pulmonary embolism in a young woman with COVID-19
- N.C. Baptist pastor who died suddenly

20/

- Young Derby woman was killed by a blood clot aged just 23
- Alberta teen sudden death after COVID-19 exposure

An increasing trend of sudden cardiac death has been observed starting with the COVID-19 pandemic ( ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… ). 21/

Thread #3 on sudden death examples (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1568820427182542850

):
- Ontario junior B hockey player dies during tournament
- Emmerdale actor Sam Gannon dies suddenly in America aged 31
- David A. Arnold, a standup comedian, age 54 died on tour

22/

- Shelton police officer age 41 died suddenly while off-duty
- Boy age 8 died after shortness of breath and cardiac arrest
- Winnipeg teen age 14 died unexpectedly
- Mother age 28 dies suddenly after dropping son off at school

23/

- Bodybuilder and Judge Jerry Ward Died of a Pulmonary Embolism from Deep Vein Thrombosis, Age 46
- North Texas school district’s new superintendent died unexpectedly
- Associate professor of biology Vladislav Snitsarev died unexpectedly
- Olyvia age 24, died unexpectedly

24/

- Matthew Rodrigopulle died suddenly in his home in Regina

Heart-disease risk soars even after a mild COVID-19 case ( nature.com/articles/d4158… ). 25/

Thread #4 on sudden death examples (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1569560770626686977

):
- Identical twin died suddenly after visiting GP with a cough
- Popular tattoo artist, age 57 suddenly dies just days before his wedding
- Baby girl age 6 months suddenly died in Glasgow

26/

- Healthy 18-year-old lifeguard dies suddenly in Italy
- College football player Luke Knox dies suddenly at 22
- Mom age 36 collapsed and died suddenly during birthday holiday
- Rugby commentator Willie Los'e dies suddenly in Cape Town

27/

- Mom collapses and dies hours after death of her five-month-old son
- 23-year-old pilot fell to his death on July 29 during an emergency landing in Raleigh
- Triathlete, 27, becomes 5th GTA doctor to die in July
- BBC Radio broadcaster Kim Lenaghan who died suddenly aged 61

28/

- Former women’s basketball player, age 27 dies unexpectedly
- East Surrey Hospital paramedic who died with Covid-19 was told 'he didn't need to wear mask'

"Houston cardiologist: COVID may bring ‘a tsunami of heart attacks in the future'" (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1569560792743174144

). 29/

Thread #5 on sudden death examples (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1571341113117577217

).
- Rugby broadcaster dies in sleep, age 65
- Valencia Prime was performing when she collapsed and died, age 25
- Young man dies suddenly at Scots shopping centre, age 25
- Unexpected death of high school teacher

30/

- UH women's basketball director Kaila Chizer dies at 26
- A young boxer passed away suddenly, age 19
- Jesse Powell’s sudden death at 51 has fans remembering
- Husband's sudden death leaves widow with two young boys

31/ 👇 Click "Show Replies" to continue thread...

- Anoka police mourn unexpected loss of officer
- YouTube Star Everleigh Rose's Dad Tommy Smith Dead at 29
- High School Cross Country Runner Recovering After Suffering a Heart Attack During a Race
- Youth football player dies unexpectedly, age 10

32/

- Katie Donnelly from Trillick died suddenly, age 18
- 10-year-old cheerleader dies of aneurysm in Stanislaus County
- Kathryn Mazzolini age 22 died unexpectedly from a coronary aneurysm
- Unexpected death of folk musician Paul Sartin, age 51

33/

- Sgt. Nicholas M. Hunter died unexpectedly on his way to work
- High School cancels classes after sudden death of teacher, tennis coach
- Mariano Ondo dies suddenly at the age of 23

34/

Evidence suggests that cerebral aneurysms are observed after COVID-19 infections ( ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P… ). 35/

An autopsy case of COVID-19 with sudden death was performed and found severe pulmonary hemorrhage in the right lung sometime during the last 3 days of life, causing blood to fill most healthy alveoli in the lungs causing death ( onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cc… ). 36/

These are many reasons why you may want to go out of your way to reduce the risk of being infected or reinfected again. If you don't follow @MeetJess already, I would highly recommend it, she posts great information. 37/

Thread #6 on sudden death examples by @MeetJess. These are coming out way too fast so maybe time to #BringBackMasks... (

https://twitter.com/MeetJess/status/1574591484879323136

). 38/

- Athumani Brown, a seventh-grader, died during school visit after collapsing on beach
- Triton Poker Co-Founder Ivan Leow Unexpectedly Passes Away at Age 39
- Bristol rugby star, age 24, dies after suffering a cardiac arrest in Millennium Square

39/

- Canadian Hockey Captain, age 20, Dies After Collapsing During Game
- Hawaii surfing and skateboard prodigy Kalani David has been reported dead at the age of 24
- Raju Srivastava (Indian comedian) dies aged 58 after suffering heart attack

40/

- Staten Island woman, age 21, died suddenly after ruptured brain aneurysm
- ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.’ Contestant George Ward, Known as Cherry Valentine, Dies at 28
- San Dimas 13-year-old who suffered heart attack during football game

41/

- Zack Estrin, Writer-Producer Known for 'Prison Break' and 'Lost in Space', Dead at 51
- Pilot of Boeing flight from Novokuznetsk to St. Petersburg dies suddenly on board plane
- New Brunswick curler Jamie Brannen has passed away suddenly at the age of 47

42/

- Fishing boat makes port 12 days after captain's death at sea
- Tributes paid to a Huddersfield sailor who died suddenly while on duty

43/

A study looking at 48 million adults found COVID-19 raises the risk of life-threatening blood clots for at least 49 weeks, with a 22x higher risk of heart attack or stroke in the first week following infection ( ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CI… ). 44/

Another study found signs of inflammatory cardiac involvement in previously well people ther persisted for several months after mild COVID-19 infection ( nature.com/articles/s4159… ). 45/

Even mild COVID-19 increases the chance of heart attack and stroke ( nature.com/articles/s4159… ). "Our results provide evidence that the risk and 1-year burden of cardiovascular disease in survivors of acute COVID-19 are substantial." 46/

Thread #7 on sudden death examples by @MeetJess. These are coming out way too fast so time to look more closely to see what is going on, whatever it might be... (

https://twitter.com/meetjess/status/1577493199236448256

). 47/

- Police officer suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived
- Actress Shonka Dukureh, age 44, died of "hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease"
- NFL legend Tony Siragusa, who helped Ravens win Super Bowl, dies at the age of 55

48/

- Jay Monds, 46 - commonly known by his moniker Bulletproof died following a brain haemorrhage
- Boy Collapses and Dies During His Little League Game a Day After Celebrating His 10th Birthday
- 9-Year-Old Boy 'With No Known Sickness or Trauma' Dies Unexpectedly in His Sleep

49/

- 7-year-old dies after found unresponsive in Johnstown home, say State Police
- Glasgow mother, age 34, dies in hospital after collapsing on Castlemilk street
- Tsuta Ramen Founder Dies Suddenly At 43

50/

- 10-year-old collapses from stroke, doctors’ and paramedics’ quick action saves his life
- 12-year-old boy collapses at school and dies, doctors determined boy died from cardiopulmonary failure and COVID
- Baradene College student death: 12-year-old collapses during run

51/

- Pa. boy, 12, collapses, dies at middle school basketball practice
- A guardsman who took part in Queen Elizabeth II's funeral has been found dead at his barracks.
- Football legend Diego Maradona dies of heart attack aged 60 after telling his nephew he didn't feel well

52/

- COOLIO struggled with severe asthma
- Kevin Locke, Lakota Flute Player, Hoop Dancer, and Cultural Ambassador, Walks On at 68
- Max Baer, the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has died at age 74 only months before he was set to retire

53/

"Some studies suggest that the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as a heart attack or stroke, remains high even many months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection clears up." ( nature.com/articles/d4158… ). 54/

"Risk of Blood Clots Remains for Nearly a Year After COVID-19 Infection" ( contagionlive.com/view/risk-of-b… ). 55/

Lingering cardiac involvement in previously well people after mild COVID-19 ( nature.com/articles/s4159… ). 56/

"Serial heart MRI scans conducted in previously well people with mild initial COVID-19 illness suggest that lingering cardiac symptoms may be explained, at least in part, by ongoing mild cardiac inflammation." 57/