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Subscribe to RSSMore young and middle-aged adults are having strokes, a new study suggests.
In 1994, 12.9 percent of strokes occurred in adults between ages 20 and 55, whereas in 2005, 18.6 percent of strokes occurred in this age group, according to the study of stroke rates in a four-county region of Ohio and Kentucky.
Additionally, the data showed that the average age of people who experienced a stroke fell from 71 in 1994 to 69 in 2005.
"The reasons for this trend could be a rise in risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol," said study author Dr. Brett Kissela, of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio. However, factors such as improved diagnosis may also have contributed to the increase, he said.
"Regardless, the rising trend found in our study is of great concern for public health, because strokes in younger people translate to greater lifetime disability," Kissela said.
In the study, researchers looked at data on all stroke patients between ages 20 and 54 seen at hospitals, clinics and nursing homes during three separate, yearlong periods: July 1993 through June 1994, and the calendar years of 1999 and 2005. Only a patient's first stroke was included in the analysis.
The stroke rate among people over age 75 decreased between 1994 and 2005, according to the study, and other studies have shown a general decrease in stroke rates over recent decades. For example, the Framingham Heart Study reported a decline in stroke rates between 1950 and 2004.
"Any decline in stroke incidence is positive from a public health prospective, but reduced incidence in older ages is counterbalanced by the worrisome trend of younger strokes," Kissela and colleagues wrote in their study. Strokes at younger ages can mean a greater loss of productive life years, and greater health care expenses over time.
The new findings show that the trend toward younger stroke patients was seen in both African-Americans and Caucasians. The yearly stroke rate among African-Americans increased between 1994 and 2005 from 83 strokes to 128 strokes per 100,000 people, according to the study. Among Caucasians, the yearly stroke rate increased from 26 strokes to 48 strokes per 100,000 people over the same period.
Most of these increases were seen in a type of stroke called an ischemic stroke, which occurs when an artery bringing blood to the brain is blocked. (Another type — called a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel leaks or bursts — was less common.)
While the reasons for the increased stroke rate among younger people are not entirely clear, the researchers pointed to the findings of a separate survey of people in the region, which showed an increasing percentage had high cholesterol. Data from national surveys also show that rates of diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity increased over the study period, they said.
"The good news is that some of the possible contributing factors to these strokes can be modified with lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise," Kissela said.
One question raised by the study is whether the increase is partly due to better diagnoses of stroke, according to two researchers who wrote an editorial accompanying the new study in the journal.
"The progressive adoption of MRI as a diagnostic tool during the study period challenges the validity," of comparing the stroke rates between the early 1990s and 2005, wrote Drs. Sally Sultan and Mitchell S. V. Elkind, both neurologists at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
While the researchers tried to account for the increased use of MRI in their study, it likely still had an effect, Sultan and Elkind said.
However, if strokes are affecting more young people, there are public health implications, they said. "If strokes occur at earlier ages, as life expectancy increases, stroke-related disability will increase even more," they wrote.
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I had a stroke at 39. The ER put me through every diagnostic test they could come up with...except an MRI. They were insistent that sleeping on a nerve pressure point was what caused my arm to be uncontrollable when I woke in the morning. Fortunately, my wise family doc sent me for an MRI the next day, but even he acted shock when the films showed the stroke. Through other testing, it was determined that my stroke was caused by a PFO- a Patent Foramen Ovale. A PFO is basically a hole in the heart that didn't close up after birth, allowing a clot to pass back upstream. The University of Michigan put a patch in my heart in the heart cath lab and I've had essentially no residual affects.
I had no risk factors at the time: cholesterol was fine, BP was fine, no diabetes, weight was fine, no family history of stroke.
"The hole in the heart" congenital heart defect that occurs before birth is on the rise. We don't know why this is happening. I'm sorry to hear what happened. Be glad your doctor was persistent, and sent you to get an MRI. He should be given an A+ for looking deeper into the issue.
I recently had a mini-stroke at 56. I have diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These are all inherited. My weight is average but my doc says my poor health is due to the poor genes. The fact that I'm losing my job at the end of the year just added that extra touch!
some things cannot be controlled -- genetics is one of them -- but I hope that you are able to find work again. don't lose hope....
Ma'm, you will be prayed for, health and job. Okay, it gave me a chance to edit, and you HAVE been prayed for. I hope the Lord grants you the health and job/finance miracle I asked Him for in your situation.
Inheritance is only a partial factor. There exists significant personal control, as manifested by diet, activity, and environmental exposure.
Hmm... Increased consumption of fast food??
Large percentage increases in over weight and obese people, duh!
Super-caffeinated energy drinks also don't help. A daughter of my friend had a stroke at about 25, after much overworking in her higher education.
Lots of things causes strokes, including aneurysms, which can be hereditary. But there are some things we can manage -- our diet, our level of physical activity -- genetics contribute to health issues but we all need to do our best to keep ourselves healthy.
My biggest fear is that I'll have a stroke or something which disables me to the point where I am not able to finish the job myself. Fat chance I could find somebody willing/able to finish the job for me. Pure hell.
Wow! Guess I should be thankful that my now-13 year old daughter didn't think that way. She is a stroke survivor. She was 10 when it happened, had no previous health problems and actually had the stroke while in the pool practicing with her competitive swim team. While she was unable to speak or move her right side, she eventually regained those deficits. She has resumed competitive swimming and made the HS swim team this year. When she went home from the hospital a week after the stroke, she needed physical and occupational therapy. She couldn't walk from our house to the mail box, but with the help of some wonderful therapists, she became stonger than before the stroke. My point is this - where you are shortly after the stroke does not equate to where you will be 6 months or even a year from then.
I'm not 13.
Different strokes...for different folks. Isn't that the old adage?
I guess all the years of sniffing paint and gas are finally starting to pay off?
The higher stroke rates can be caused from several new factors in our lifestyles:
1. "Holes in the hearts" - hearts not developing correctly while in the womb - has increased. Now 1 in 4 people have them. As one cardiologist recommended this year - have your child checked.
2. Birth control pills can cause strokes. 15% of the population has a blood clotting inherited factor, so that is 1 out 7 women have the risk of developing strokes while taking the pill. It is recommended that if you family has strokes, that you should be tested for this genetic issue.
3. Overdosing on some supplements can be an issue. This year we heard that calcium supplements should not be taken all at one - like in the morning. The body can't handle the overload, too much calcium enters the body, and since calcium can cause vessel constriction - studies this year have shown an increase in heart attacks. Another example, is the vitamin B6. If your bottle says twice a day, you better be taking it twice a day, not two pills in the morning. B6 can cause seizures and strokes as side effects when taken improperly. The rule is that you should always spread out your supplements. Your body was made to slowly digest your food and slowly absorb the minerals and vitamins.
5. High blood pressure needs to be controlled, which means get a blood pressure cuff or get a physical once a year. When you have high blood pressure, it puts extra pressure on your vessels in your brain. This can lead to aneurisms. So, get yourself checked. Blood pressure issues can run in families. So, get yourself checked. I know several people who are skinny that were diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Remember, if you get a stroke, go to the hospital. Time is critical. They have powerful drugs now that stop the brain damage. Call the ambulance. They will be waiting for you when you arrive, and you will get the wonderful care you need to be back up and running normally.
Sure, a cardiologist will suggest that every kid in America should see a cardiologist. :-) There's ZERO evidence, folks, that screening healthy kids for a patent foramen ovale ("hole in the heart") will do more good than harm. First of all, a "defect" that is present in 25% of the population isn't much of a defect. People with that anatomical variant can have a higher risk of stroke, but if you are young and healthy enough that your annual risk of stroke is minuscule, double that risk is still minuscule. A quarter of America's kids and young adults do not have strokes!
Does this screen-pusher suggest that every kid with a patent foramen ovale should face intervention, such as the implantation of one of the expensive new devices intended to plug the hole? Studies even in adults who have already had strokes lead to questions about whether those devices offer a net benefit, since there's a significant short-term risk of catastrophic complications - and no clue yet what the effects over a lifetime would be - and they hardly prevent all strokes. Or does he just want to label a quarter of America's kids as cardiac cases, perhaps leading their parents to limit their physical activity out of irrational fear and thereby ensuring that they'll be fat, atherosclerotic adults who will - hmmm - need cardiologists?
And this is not to say anything of the financial costs of universal screening and any follow-up specialist "care" whatsoever delivered to *a quarter of the population*. Screening should only be done when there is actual clinical evidence that it does more good than harm. Here, there is no such evidence, and considerable reason to believe that the reverse would be the case.
I appreciate your concerns about cost and what procedures are used to detect "Holes in the Heart". The normal way to detect these defects is with a sonogram, which is noninvasive and it does not cost that much. Second, if a hole in the heart is found, a procedure is not usually recommended. What is necessary is to eat the proper foods, take the proper supplements, or take medications that keep the blood thinner. Which route is best for your condition can be discussed with your physician. The simple fact of the matter is that until we determine why this is happening to the last two generations, we all need to be aware of the risks, and make choices as whether to be checked.
U.S. Statistics
- Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. More than 140,000 people die each year from stroke.
- Each year, approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke. About 600,000 of these are first attacks, and 185,000 are recurrent attacks.
- Nearly three-quarters of all strokes occur in people over the age of 65. The risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade after the age of 55.
- Nearly one fourth of strokes occur in people under the age of 65.
- In the United States someone has a stroke every 40 seconds.
- Stroke accounts for about one of every 17 deaths.
- High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke.
Source for this is U.S Disease and Control.
You're spreading FUD about calcium and B6. Sure, excess of either is bad, and what is excess for calcium may be debatable, but there most certainly exist safe doses for both supplements, including in the morning.
its because of all the stress that has been put on them .Big companies are down sizing and are men and women are made to work a 2 mans job for one mans pay while they fill there pockets with the money they are saving and killing our people in the process.And now there wanting to reduce pay so there working to jobs just to make ends meat.My husband has a Goverment job and we are bearly being able to buy food the funny thing is my kids are grown and they live on there own and our grocery bill has tripled what gives .My husband is one who has had 2 strokes