Stroke, Very Common Also In Young People

According to the Spanish Neurology Society (SEN), stroke continues to be the second cause of death in men and the first in women.

Although it is true that many people still think that it is a disease of advanced ages, reality tells us something very different.

Stroke can affect anyone between the ages of 20 and 64. However, the case of young people who have suffered it has increased in recent decades.

We all have close to a relative, friend or neighbor who with little more than 20 or 30 years has suffered this stroke without anyone being able to understand the reason.

What is most complex – and dramatic – about this disease is that, in addition to being fatal or disabling in many cases, it is not so easy to prevent it.

We give you more information below.

Stroke has no age: aspects that we must take into account

According to a study by the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid (Spain), 14% of patients who suffer a stroke are under 56 years old.

As doctors explain to us, despite the fact that there are factors that can trigger it, such as tobacco, stress, obesity or high blood pressure, there is also a genetic component that neurologists try to decipher.

It must be said, yes, that mortality associated with strokes is decreasing  due to better care in the critical phase. There are also new techniques with which,  If patient care is immediate, the impact of the stroke is much less.

Nor can we forget that each case is unique, that each person suffers from a cerebral infarction in a specific area and that, later, neurorehabilitation will be key to recovering those affected functionalities.

Let’s see more data.

Those affected by stroke are getting younger

The Lancet medical journal was the first to voice the warning. Every year 83,000 people in their early 20s suffer a stroke. Although it is true that this figure represents only 0.5 percent of the total, the figure is increasing decade by decade.

The causes associated with this complex reality could be the following:

• Congenital malformations that progress with damage to the cerebral arteries until, finally, the cerebral infarction appears. Stroke.
• To the genetic factors, in some cases , bad life habits are added, such as tobacco, suffering from obesity, having cholesterol or even consuming certain types of drugs.
• Another factor that neurologists are taking into account is stress. Today there are many young people who face complex situations of stress or anxiety, due to unemployment, emotional problems, affective …
• However, when a young person suffers a stroke, it is very difficult to know why it has happened. In many cases they are people who lead a healthy and calm life, and hence the impact is even higher for the family and the doctors.

People affected by stroke could increase

As neurologists tell us, there are forecasts that in the year 2030 the number of people with disability associated with stroke will increase.

• In this case, we are not only talking about genetic causes, those that it is practically impossible to prevent. Strokes would rise because our lifestyle, far from improving, worsens.
• If we add to this a higher pollution index, little physical exercise, higher levels of stress or anxiety and a poor diet, all of this would increase the number of deaths and patients who must follow neurorehabilitation programs.

Is it in our power to prevent stroke in any way?

Most of us tend to think that stroke cannot be prevented, that, almost without knowing how, the rupture of that cerebral vessel appears.

Now, we cannot forget that stroke is closely related to our heart health.

Thus, factors such as atherosclerosis or cholesterol will affect the quality of blood circulation in our brain. We can and should take better care of ourselves.

Therefore, it is recommended that we keep these simple guidelines in mind:

• Quit tobacco – and make those around you quit.
• It is known that a significant percentage of people who have suffered a stroke are diabetic. We have to attend to this aspect.
• Avoid hypertension.
• Get regular aerobic exercises.
• Take care of your diet, eat fresh fruit and avoid processed products.

Warning symptoms to detect a possible stroke

Since the best way to save a person or reduce the incidence of stroke is to know how to identify the symptoms, it never hurts to remember them again. Keep them in mind:

• Very severe headache, unlike any other type of headache.
• Sudden and sudden loss of strength in the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body.
• Tingling sensation in the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body.
• Sudden loss of vision, partial or total, in one or both eyes.
• Sudden speech disturbance, difficulty expressing yourself.
• Feeling of intense vertigo, instability or imbalance.