Can carbon monoxide poisoning cause a stroke?

Question

My father-in-law recently suffered a stroke. Two days prior, he was working in the hold of his boat working on the engine, along with two other people. The hold is enclosed and the engine was running. Some of them started having a headache. My father-in-law shooed them out and he finished up in a few more minutes. For the next couple of days he complained of his stomach not feeling right. Then as he was walking up some steps, he fell and became unconscious for just a minute. Ambulance came. He was disoriented and threw up. Still in hospital but improving.

I'll add that he does take several high blood pressure medications, but has no history of strokes. (Blood pressure was high when ambulance came.) I know that we may never know, because it could have all been blood pressure related, but is/are there any definitive studies linking carbon monoxide poisoning and strokes?

Answer 1

The Carbon monoxide steals away the oxygen in the blood, resulting in red coloration of skin. Hence it deprived heart and brain in fact whole body of its Oxygen, so you are correct.

Answer 2

My mother-in-law s significant other suffered a life-ending stroke, the result of chronic low level carbon monoxide exposure. Let me explain: He lived in an illegal ground floor dwelling without a usual heat source. As a result, he devised a sand bath heating arrangement powered by a regular kitchen stove burner. This contraption was constantly on during the winter months, and there was no additional means of venting the combustion gases from the stove. The diagnosis of chronic CO exposure was never confirmed (I am a PhD chemist/biochemist), but he had none of the risk factors commonly associated with ischemic stroke. One corroborating detail was my examination, upon my mother-in-law s behest, of his email account: he had not answered or read any emails for 1 1/2 years prior to the stroke event. This was not in character for him.

Answer 3

A stroke is the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain, for whatever reason. So, yes, his stroke could have been caused by the lack of oxygen due to the carbon monoxide exposure. Carbon monoxide inhibits the ability of the blood to absorb oxygen by binding to the hemoglobin more easily and tighter than oxygen.

Answer 4

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